LONDON, 22 June - The role that carbon funds played in the growth of the carbon market is the subject of the fifth chapter of IETA’s oral history of the carbon market.

This latest chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, available online from today, tells the story of how carbon funds – initiated by the World Bank – helped to shape the international market and what drove emitters and governments to invest in these vehicles.  

“Climate finance is an increasingly important component of international climate policy, and the legacy of the years of investment via carbon funds can help inform future financial vehicles, such as the Green Climate Fund,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. 

The overall oral history project, From Kyoto to Paris, charts the path from the 1997 treaty to 2015 and the Paris Agreement. Comprised of both a series of videos and a book, it features interviews with key players in the market’s growth, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. 

Chapters already released have looked at markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early experiments with emissions trading, the growth of the EU ETS and the CDM. Forthcoming chapters will look at the changes brought by the Durban climate talks and the Paris Agreement. 

Each week, IETA will release another video chapter of the story on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. In early July, the book will be released via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out!