Markit & C-Questor Launch Carbco Platinum Standard

Copenhagen, London and New York, NY – Markit, a leading, global financial information services company, and C-Questor Limited, a UK-based international organization dedicated to helping solve the problems of global warming and climate change through the application of cutting-edge technologies, today announced the launch of the Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard. Carbco offers a range of services relating to the Carbon markets, including both voluntary and mandatory carbon credits. The two companies also announced an agreement to list the Platinum Carbon Standard verified credits exclusively on Markit’s Environmental Registry, a leading environmental registry which lists the majority of the world's credits based on voluntary carbon and ecosystem standards.

The Platinum Carbon Standard supports current international, scientifically sound standards (such as the Voluntary Carbon Standard), adding additional certification and validity. Whilst earlier projects have focused on deforestation credits, the Platinum Carbon Standard is designed to encompass emerging technologies in the climate change sector. It will focus initially on the forestry sector, integrating carbon, biodiversity and other environmental services into a single certificate thereby representing the highest possible ethical standards.

There are currently several Platinum Carbon Standard projects underway in Africa, Brazil and South-East Asia. The first certificates to be listed based on the standard related to a 168,000 hectare forestry project based in Papua, Indonesia.

Platinum Carbon Standard projects are required to meet a range of obligatory standards ranging from sustainability, biodiversity and transparent accounting to the setting aside of carbon as an insurance against accidents and the need for proof that a project produces genuine carbon reductions that would not have occurred during normal business practice.

Dr. Hans Christian Soerensen, a Director of C-Questor Limited, said: “The Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard’s focus is on protecting the broadest range of species and ecosystems. Qualifying projects must ensure that project benefits can be verified and observed, both by official verifying bodies and by the provision of regularly updated satellite data and real time video feeds to permit monitoring by the global community.”

Transparency and integrity for the new standard are of paramount importance. In line with this requirement, Markit’s Environmental Registry has been selected as the sole global carbon registry for credits verified with the Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard.

Helen Robinson, Managing Director of Markit’s Environmental Registry, said: “Markit is pleased to provide a secure platform for the listing and tracking of the Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard.”

Dr. Soerensen added: “It is essential for buyers and sellers of carbon credits to be confident in the provenance and singularity of the credits. Markit’s Environmental Registry provides this security and greatly increases the visibility of the Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard within the global marketplace.”

There are 10 million Pending Issuance Units, validated to the Carbco Platinum Carbon Standard, currently listed on Markit’s Environmental Registry. These can be viewed on www.markitenvironmental.com/carbcoplatinum

A copy of the press release can be downloaded from the C-Questor website by clicking here.