With an unparalleled portfolio of about 100 millions CER, orbeo is already one of the largest market participant in the different carbon markets both on CERs as well as European Union Allowances (EUA) transactions. orbeo’s market share on the EU ETS is about 6%.
orbeo offers a wide range of carbon products and solutions to manage our clients carbon assets:
CER / ERU
CER (Certified Emissions Reductions) are issued for emission reductions from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project activities.
ERU (Emission Reduction Unit) are generated for emissions reductions or emission removal from Joint Implementation (JI) project.
One CER or one ERU are equivalent to one 1 metric tonne of CO2 and are tradable on carbon markets.
With orbeo:
- - buy and sell CER or / and ERU
- - originate new streams of CER/ERU by leveraging CDM/JI projects
EUA
EUA (European Union Allowances) are the quotas allocated by the National Allocation Plans in the frame of the EU European Trading Scheme.
One EUA represents the right to emit 1 tonne of CO2.
Industrial sites are allowed to restitute CERs/ERUs instead of EUAs to a certain limit which varies country by country.
- - EUA from phase I correspond to the quotas allocated from 2005 to 2007
- - EUA from phase II correspond to the quotas allocated from 2008 to 2012
orbeo offers the possibility to swap EUA for CERs.
VER
Verified Emission Reductions (VER) are tradable emission reductions which are not certified under the Kyoto Protocol but which can be used to compensate carbon emissions.
1 VER corresponds to one metric tone of CO2 equivalent.
VER are frequently used for voluntary offsetting of greenhouse gas emissions.
Being often associated to lighter environmental integrity requirements (e.g. additionality) and related verification process, VER are generally cheaper than CER. Various standards are emerging to characterize credits quality.
orbeo has begun as a VER supplier on the first VER exchange (Chicago Carbon Exchange).
Thanks to its CER business experience, orbeo has a precise knowledge of the key attributes of VER.
orbeo participated in the development of the standard that might be used for reference contracts at the European stock exchange ECX (INCIS standard).
Through the use of the highest standard VER, orbeo is committed to the traceability and the high environmental integrity of the emission reductions to produce VER and offer premium quality VER.
orbeo can offer the following standards, all featuring additionality, durability and strict non-double counting rules:
- - VER “VOS”: INCIS (International Carbon Investors and Services) has proposed the Voluntary Offset Standard. This Standard brings the voluntary market up to the level of the regulated and standardised procedures of the compliance market, but extends the eligible geographical area beyond those countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
- - VER “Gold Standard”: The Gold Standard has been defined in 2006 and is backed by prominent environmental groups such as WWF. It is a premium quality label, Kyoto equivalent, which ensures the successful integration of stakeholder feedback, and integrity of environmental impact assessments.
- - VCS (Voluntary Carbon Standard): It has been designed by the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), and non-profit organizations The Climate Group and WWF. It ensures local community participation and bears a strong sustainable development dimension.
- - VER+: The certification body of TUV SUD (an entity accredited by the UNFCCC to assess compliance projects) has created the VER + standard, which ensures full additionality while providing a flexible approach on the utilised baseline and monitoring methodology.
Other CO2 instruments
CCX: Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is North America’s only and the world’s first global marketplace for integrating voluntary legally binding emissions reductions with emissions trading and offsets for all six greenhouse gases.
The currency at CCX is the Carbon Financial Instrument® (CFI) contract. One CFI contract is equal to 100 metric tons of CO2.
orbeo trades on the CCX (participant member) and operates as a liquidity provider.