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Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange considering trade in greenhouse gas emission quotas
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MINSK, 31 October (BelTA) – The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange is considering the possibility of trading in quotas of greenhouse gas emissions, the BUCE press service told BelTA.
A consultative seminar took place in Minsk to consider the possibility of using Kazakhstan’s experience for organizing digital exchange trade in carbon quotas in Belarus. Leading experts in the sphere of ecology and green energy took part in it.
A presentation by the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange primarily focused on the organizational structure, operators, and key peculiarities of trade in greenhouse gas emission quotas. The important role exchange platforms play in the effective redistribution of quotas among the enterprises that use this system was noted. Exchange trade allows defining the real market value of the quotas depending on supply and demand. The digital form of trade organization allows buying the necessary amount of carbon units as promptly as possible.
In addition to CO2 quotas, which have a period of validity, the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange could trade in perpetual carbon offsets, which reflect efforts meant to compensate the damage caused to the environment by greenhouse gas emissions. Those may include forest restoration or the construction of renewable energy generating installations. Both kinds of assets – quotas and offsets – look like typical exchange-traded commodities. This is why the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange can technically organize trade in them right now, the BUCE press service noted.
It was stressed that certain steps to realize the green agenda using exchange trade tools are already being made. In particular, the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange organizes weekly trade sessions in services in the area of forestry industry, including forest planting and forest protection. They are essentially carbon offsets. The sum of exchange deals for buying forestry industry services amounted to Br182.7 million in January-September 2022.
The seminar was organized by the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Ministry on the sidelines of the UNDP project “Building up the potential for trade in greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the system for monitoring, reporting, and verification in Belarus” taking into account the information received as a result of the Belarusian delegation’s visit to Astana on 3-6 October 2022 to examine Kazakhstan’s experience in this area.
The Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange also has experience of organizing digital trade in intangible assets in the sphere of renewable energy. In 2019 the Belarusian Universal Commodity Exchange successfully sold a pre-investment asset for building and operating seven wind-driven generators.
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