an den positiven äusserungen vom vorstandsmitglied.
An Exclusive Interview with Dr. Robert Falls, Chairman ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd
February 24, 2012
GLOBE-Net, February 24, 2012 - In May 2011 Dr. Robert Falls stepped down from the day-to-day management duties as CEO of ERA Carbon Offsets (ERA), an organization he helped create in 2004 and which is now a world leader in forestry based carbon offset projects.
Following a restructuring of the company, Dr. Falls has continued as Chair of the Board of Directors, and is now engaged in the search to recruit a new CEO who will chart ERA's course in the North American and international voluntary and pre-compliant carbon markets.
Under his leadership, ERA has sold over 2 million tonnes of forest-based carbon offsets in both the voluntary and pre-compliance markets from projects in Canada. ERA has been engaged in forest carbon projects and markets in the United States, Africa, South America and Australasia.
The team Robert assembled is now preparing to tackle the new challenges of the emerging international offsets markets.
Looking back over his years with ERA, Dr. Falls has some insights that might prove helpful for whoever takes over the job of CEO. In this exclusive interview with GLOBE-Net, he talks about how the global carbon markets have changed since 2004 and what the future might hold.
GLOBE-Net: Dr. Falls,tell us a bit about the approach that ERA has takenin terms of finding suitable projects that can generate verifiable carbon offsets?
Robert Falls: Our opening mantra, which we borrowed, went something like "think globally, act locally," and we did. Our first projects emerged in our own backyards so to speak, with a forest ecosystem restoration project that kicked off on Rivers Day, September 29th, 2004. With some believers and friends, we planted a few dozen native conifers on lands controlled by a few local environmental organizations. Following the lead of the Mayor of Maple Ridge, our first clients, David Van Seters, CEO of Small Potatoes Urban Delivery (SPUD), and Mike Wood, CEO of a vehicle lease company based in Vancouver, got their hands dirty and planted our first trees.
Thereafter came the District of Mission, the City and Township of Langley, and the Greater Vancouver Regional District. We also undertook a project with the Nature Trust of B.C., and the B.C. Ministry of the Environment, that restored Great Blue Heron habitat near a wetland.
What was the common denominator? Our partners, both landholders and offset-buying clients alike, all saw the multiple benefits and the win-win nature of ecological restoration and protection that would not otherwise happen, but which were made possible through carbon finance.
GLOBE-Net: What were your expectations when you started out in 2004 with respect to the then emerging carbon marketplace, and how have your views changed since then?
Robert Falls: When we started, the carbon offset space was small and undifferentiated. I had been involved in carbon offset projects for almost ten years at that point, mostly for large energy companies that were addressing sustainability and climate policies. There were very few players, virtually no rules, and no viable, established standards by which projects could be validated and verified. Some leaders of the market claimed that carbon offsets would never exceed 50 cents a tonne in value, and very few players saw a market emerging, that would ultimately exceed $100 billion per annum. However, some forward-thinking organizations, such as CO2E.com, Natsource, and others, believed a compliant market was inevitable, and invested in infrastructure and capacity. This turned out to be a very long bet.
The view today is vastly changed: in terms of compliant carbon markets, foundational international policies have been very slow to develop and implement, while regional programming has come into play. The EU-ETS has sustained through any number of challenges, and continues. Regional programming in North America, such as California continues, but slowly, dodging obstacles all the way. Programming in Australia, New Zealand, and Asia is proceeding, but not in a coordinated fashion - yet.
Voluntary markets, which represent a tiny fraction of the overall carbon marketplace, have grown significantly since we started ERA, but only time will tell in what direction and to what magnitude. One constant about carbon markets has been a lack of predictability.
However, over time, it would appear that the markets are indeed finding the "best bang for the buck" projects, and these are increasingly located in developing countries - thus our focus in the Congo and other African countries. The amplification of benefits in terms of dollars spent in developing countries isquite remarkable, and has provided a broad range of benefits to communities, in terms of jobs, infrastructure, education, and ecological integrity.
GLOBE-Net: Few people really understand what carbon trading is all about. Some see it as buying a license to pollute; others claim it's the only way to get business on side with respect to protecting the environment. How would you explain it to someone with little knowledge of the subject?
Robert Falls: Let's start with the premise that we are indeed loading the atmosphere with carbon dioxide much faster than we (with the help of trees) are removing it, that this is impacting climate negatively, and that we ought to do something to correct the situation so we don't leave a legacy of climatic instability for future generations to grapple with.
In taking action, whether driven by a personal commitment, or regulation, or corporate policy, one quickly determines that whether you are a household or a manufacturing facility, the range of emission-reducing measures you can take "within the fence line" is limited. High efficiency heating systems, insulation, photovoltaics, and energy efficiency measures such as changing out lightbulbs, represent limited opportunities. There is in fact a cost curve for any entity, and there is a point at which the investments yield too little benefit to make sense.
Verified Offsets represent emissions-reduction benefits that have been developed "outside the fence line." They have been confirmed as real, and genuine, and incremental to "business as usual," by a qualified third party auditor. And, drum roll here, they are far more cost effective, than chasing every last opportunity in the home or facility.
Offsets are not a "license to pollute", on the contrary, they represent a means for ethical and/or regulated emitters, including households, to reduce their net carbon footprints, after all reasonable internal means have been exhausted, and in so doing, create a range of co-benefits.
Now, if what I have just said could be reduced to one sentence, the carbon offset industry would prosper dramatically!
GLOBE-Net: Criticism has been levied against the awarding of carbon offsets for some projects that were funded in part by the sale of carbon emission savings that never did exist or failed to happen as planned. How does ERA ensure that the emissions reductions promised actually materialize?
Robert Falls: It's a remarkable thing about money, once opportunities to "make" it become visible, the imposters, frauds, and a range of other unsavoury characters, will show up -- as will legitimate competition. The latter we welcome, as this is what helps find least cost solutions. However, with respect to bogus projects and claims, while inevitable these are also few and far between. Without exception, any knowledgeable buyer of carbon offsets will be looking for validation, verification, and/or certification, by a credible third party they trust, and is trusted within the industry.
Matters of methodology, measurement, ownership, and other key elements will be addressed against an established and credible standard. Whether voluntary or compliant offsets are being transacted, validation and verification (and/or certification) to a credible standard, such as the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) or a standard established prescribed by a jurisdiction such as California, will be essential.
For those knowledgeable in the space, such as offset project developers, brokers, and large buyers, the standards and the processes are well known. For households, the challenge becomes somewhat larger, as there is a learning process if one wishes to be 100% sure, but in the year 2012, with carbon markets reaching their 20+ anniversary, the vast majority of offset project developers, validators, and brokers, have established their respective authenticities.
GLOBE-Net: Some financial experts believe the global economy will take years to recover from the recent recession and the Euro-zone crisis. What impacts will the troubled world economy have on carbon offsets market?
Robert Falls: I wish I could say "no impact", but my guess is that there has already been an impact felt, as some organizations that have been buyers in the voluntary marketplace, have decided to cut costs. Having said that, there is a sustained, perhaps even growing, focus on the climate issue. Forward thinking organizations such as Google and any number of other entities are continuing to offset their operations. And fossil energy companies are being faced with import sanctions that target carbon intensive production.
With respect to compliant markets, while slow to emerge, emerge they have and will continue to do so. When California's cap and trade programming goes operational in 2013, this will almost double what is already a $140 billion per year industry. As Asian countries follow step, and perhaps additional regions in the U.S. and Canada, the carbon offset market looks bright. Not explosive, and not without clouds and storms, but bright nonetheless.
GLOBE-Net: ERA Carbon Offsets Ltd. is now searching for a new CEO. What kind of person are you looking for in the person who eventually takes over from where you left off?
Robert Falls: First off, what we are seeking for ERA's next chapter is not another me. When I founded ERA with Bart Simmons back in 2004, the path forward required a combination of vision which I brought, and on the ground capacity, which was Bart's great asset. I have always been ahead of my time, which means that while we might have been the first to get there, the game was still being designed.
However we found a way to sustain the company, we helped shape the markets, and we spawned a number of capable folks that are out there now, some competing, but all contributing, and there is no undoing the extraordinary experience we have acquired.
The carbon trading space has changed dramatically. It has become complicated, sophisticated, competitive, and very international. There has been an extraordinary differentiation in required roles, and many very large organizations, including some of the world's largest financial institutions, are now involved and doing business.
Within this context, ERA's next CEO needs to be capable and comfortable in a range of domestic and international stages, including public markets. He or she will have an entrepreneurial mindset, and very strong leadership qualities to lead and navigate the next several years. The next CEO will need to be both confident and respectful of shareholders, and the planet. Hard-nosed but authentic, he or she will need a very strong grounding in business and must respect both science and social systems.
When we founded ERA, and before our first tree was in the ground, I used to say that our goal was to "start a wave of ecological restoration and protection in our own backyard, that would reverberate around the world….."
Well, we have been operational in our own backyard for eight years, and we are on the ground in Africa now. It is time to grow even stronger, and start reverberating around the world. Taking on ERA's CEO role is not for the faint of heart, but for the right person, will be an extraordinarily rewarding experience.
19 Jahre alt aber schon ein Börsenprofi der Krise sei Dank.
