In Beijing:
Helen Ni
Tel: + 86 10 5860 3262
E-mail: hni@ifc.org

In Hong Kong:
Andrew Mak
Phone: +852 2509 8110
E-mail: amak@ifc.org

In Washington, D.C.:
Lucie Giraud
Phone: +1 202 458 4662
E-mail: lgiraud@ifc.org


Beijing, April 3, 2008—IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, has completed agreements with four Chinese companies to help reduce their greenhouse gas emissions from 15 projects with the purchase of credits generated under the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism. The agreements with Anhui Kangyuan Electric Power Group Co., Beijing Deqingyuan Agriculture Technology Co., Guizhou Kaiyang Xinglong Hydropower Co., and Shenzhen PhasCon Technologies Co., are for a total of more than $43 million.

IFC purchased these Certified Emission Reductions through the IFC-Netherlands Carbon Facility, one of two facilities that IFC manages on behalf of the Dutch government.  The reductions in developing countries purchased by the facilities will be used by the Netherlands to comply with its commitment under the Kyoto Protocol. The four new agreements bring to 12 the number of transactions, representing over 40 projects, that have been done under these facilities.

The projects covered by the new agreements are three landfills where methane is captured to produce electricity, a chicken farm where methane is turned into biogas to produce electricity, and 11 hydropower projects in two Chinese provinces.

Vikram Widge, Head of IFC’s Carbon Finance Unit, said, “Part of IFC’s climate change strategy is to help companies make full use of the Clean Development Mechanism to invest in sustainable energy. As China’s demand for energy grows, projects such as hydropower generation and use of methane from waste can provide climate-friendly alternatives for generating power.”

In 2006, China produced 6,200 million tons of greenhouse gas from the burning of fossil fuels and cement production. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the Clean Development Mechanism will contribute to a total emission reduction of 1.3 billion tons in China through 2012.

IFC also offers several innovative financial products for the growing carbon market, including a carbon delivery guarantee for projects that generate emission reductions and loans against emission reduction purchase agreements. For more on IFC’s carbon finance offerings, visit www.ifc.org/carbonfinance or e-mail carbonfinance@ifc.org.  

About IFC
IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, fosters sustainable economic growth in developing countries by financing private sector investment, mobilizing private capital in local and international financial markets, and providing advisory and risk mitigation services to businesses and governments. IFC’s vision is that people should have the opportunity to escape poverty and improve their lives. In FY07, IFC committed $8.2 billion and mobilized an additional $3.9 billion through syndications and structured finance for 299 investments in 69 developing countries. IFC also provided advisory services in 97 countries. For more information, visit www.ifc.org.