CO2 hysteria causes a Chinese environmental bureaucrat to take a fossil-fueled roundtrip flight to Germany every two months

Carbon traders compete in potentially lucrative market_English_Xinhua

The world market for trading greenhouse gas emissions doubled last year to about 70 billion dollars, according to World Bank figures. China accounts for 73 [?] percent of the clean development mechanism (CDM) projects - a major carbon trading business.

Until just a few years ago, the idea of making money from emissions trading would have sounded like madness to most businesspeople in China. But the CDM is changing all that.

The deal between Myland Group, a chemical plant based in Jiangsu province, and the World Bank is one example. Every year during production, the plant emits HFC23, a strong, heat-trapping gas, equivalent to 8 million tons of CO2s. Before the manufacturer signed a contract with the World Bank to sell carbon credits, the chemicals group did not realize it was sitting on a goldmine. But the seven-year deal is expected to bring the group a windfall of more than 330 million euros at a price of 6 euros per ton of CO2s.
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"Japan needs to construct 20 standard nuclear power stations on its territory and to amend more than 100 laws and regulations in order to reach the target," Lu Xuedu, deputy director of the office of global environmental affairs at the Ministry of Science and Technology, says.

"It's not easy for Japan. Participating in the CDM program is a cost-effective measure for the country to fulfill its international commitment."

China is one of the world's biggest emitters, and CDM projects are bringing unexpected windfalls for most Chinese manufacturers. But local businesspeople are well aware of the challenges when it comes to the CDM.
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"Because the business largely depends on rich countries' commitment to the international convention, project developers should also keep an eye on the climate change policies of their business partners' countries."

Every two months, Lu goes to Bonn, Germany, the UNFCCC secretariat location, to attend the regular meeting of the CDM executive board. New CDM issues are discussed at the meeting and CDM projects awaiting registration are reviewed.