INDIAN projects wanting to trade carbon can now discover a desirable price for their potential carbon credits with an online auction Web site in place.

Asia Carbon Exchange (ACX-Exchange) and New Values on Wednesday announced the world's first online auction of forward certified emission reduction (CER) contracts arising from clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in Asia.

CER stands for one tonne of carbon dioxide emission reduction and can be traded globally. CDM projects are those projects that help reduce green house gas (GHG) emissions and generate CERs.

Companies that are engaged in projects that could qualify to generate CERs (after getting clearances from the UN panel) can enter into forward CER contracts with the buyers through this platform.

In order to trade online, firms wanting to sell potential carbon credits are required to list their project design document at the online exchange. Buyers in the auction would be able to access these project related documents before a transaction in order to assess the project and determine the price and volume of CERs they want to bid for, said a release.

Moderators would be introduced to safeguard the integrity of the trading process.

The post-auction process would entail final discussions between the buying and selling participants and signing of emission reductions purchase agreement, it added.

At present, ACX-Change is in the area of getting together sellers of CERs and to find the best possible price for the CERs through the auction process. New Values, a network organisation, would look for the buyers.

Need to simplify approval process: Meanwhile, experts at the Indo-Italian meet on renewable energy called for a reduction in the time taken for getting clearance for projects aiming to trade carbon by simplifying the approval procedure at the international level (UN panel for climate change).

Speaking at the conference organised by FICCI, Italy's Director General at the Ministry for the Environment and Territory, Mr Corrado Clini, said India and Italy need to work bilaterally for clean development mechanism (CDM) projects notwithstanding the complex clearance proceduresat the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Earlier, informing that 137 projects have been approved at the domestic level, Mr Naresh Dayal, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Environment and Forests, had also referred to the prevalent procedures. "It is also our view that registration process for CDM projects is expensive and time consuming and lacks transparency. It is in the interest of both developed and developing nations to reduce the cost and time taken in registration," said Mr Dayal.

"Governments need to identify and remove, if there are, legal and institutional barriers, to put in place and increase Government purchasing schemes for renewables equipment, to encourage green energy proposals and to allow for all environmental costs in assessing options for new energy plants," said Mr Antonio Armellini, the Italian Ambassador in India.