Washington, D.C., July 26, 2005 – The IFC-Netherlands Carbon Facility (INCaF), a joint initiative of the International Finance Corporation and the Dutch government, recently signed two emissions reductions purchase agreements worth more than $20 million to purchase greenhouse gas emission reductions from renewable energy projects in Brazil and India.  Sales of these carbon credits will take place under the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol and will be used by government of the Netherlands to comply with its commitment under the protocol.  

Carbon credits, unlike the dollars and euros that trade for physical goods and services, are a new money exchange intended to reduce pollution, particularly emissions of carbon dioxide, that is caused by burning fossil fuels. Carbon emissions are the leading cause of global climate change.

Based in India’s Uttar Pradesh state, Balrampur Chini Mills is an IFC client and operator of two new bagasse (sugarcane waste) cogeneration plants, one at a sugar mill in Balrampur and the other a new plant at Haidergarh.  The company has signed an agreement worth more than $10 million to sell some of the plants’ emission reduction credits created by burning cleaner fuel. The plants are the first in the state to use high-pressure design for both cogeneration and export of mill-generated bagasse.  They will generate power and steam, exporting electricity to the Uttar Pradesh power grid even during the off-season.

In Brazil, Brascan Energetica S.A. signed an agreement worth around $11 million to sell carbon emission reductions from several hydropower projects across the country.  The company focuses on the development, ownership, and operation of small-scale hydropower generation plants in Brazil.  It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Brascan Power Corporation, a leading developer of renewable energy projects in North America. The total installed capacity of the company’s six run-of-river projects is currently 101.4 megawatts—clean energy that is displacing fossil fuel-based power generation on the Brazilian grid.  

The mission of IFC (www.ifc.org) is to promote sustainable private sector investment in emerging markets, helping to reduce poverty and improve people’s lives. IFC finances private sector investments in transition and developing countries, mobilizes capital in the international financial markets, helps clients improve social and environmental sustainability, and provides technical assistance and advice to governments and businesses. From its founding in 1956 through FY04, IFC has committed more than $44 billion of its own funds and arranged $23 billion in syndications for 3,143 companies in 140 developing countries. IFC’s worldwide committed portfolio as of FY04 was $17.9 billion for its own account and $5.5 billion held for participants in loan syndications.