The European Union responded to the threat posed by greenhouse gas emissions by introducing its EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) in 2005. Please click here for our vision on the impact of this scheme on a solution for climate change. The system, now in its third year of operation, makes individual companies responsible for part of each Member State’s national contribution to reducing emissions. Fortis was quick to recognise the business opportunities presented by the EU ETS, since when we have become a market leader and pioneer in the European carbon arena. We have the expertise to deliver added value, making us more than a pure commodities trader. We offer our customers a range of carbon solutions, including trust, trading, finance, fund, clearing and escrow services.

Our carbon banking customers represent a range of industries, including oil and gas, cement, ceramics, iron and steel, refining, pulp and paper, and utilities. A dedicated, cross-business team works continuously to facilitate our customers’ responses to a world that is increasingly carbon-constrained. Our goal is to promote the reduction of greenhouse gases by offering innovative solutions that generate low-cost abatement opportunities across the globe. With offices in Europe, the US, Hong Kong and Singapore, Fortis is the first to offer a round-the-clock carbon banking service.

UNDP and Fortis

Fortis has been named financial services provider for the United Nations Development Programme’s MDG Carbon Facility. Under the terms of the partnership, UNDP will help developing countries conceive projects intended to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, and will ensure that these projects meet the Kyoto Protocol’s agreed standards and deliver real, sustainable benefits to the environment and broader human development. Fortis will then purchase, and sell on, the emissions-reduction credits generated by these projects. The proceeds from Fortis’s purchases will provide developing countries and communities with a new flow of resources to finance much-needed investment and to promote development.

Kemal Dervis, UNDP Administrator:

“As we reach the halfway point to the 2015 target for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, it is clear that business has a critical role to play in advancing sustainable human development. We are delighted to have an eminent partner like Fortis join us in working to use carbon finance to transform markets, help mitigate the effects of climate change and promote a more sustainable future for all.”