On Thursday, April 29, 2010 a technical cooperation agreement was signed by the Brazilian Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange – BM&FBOVESPA, the Environmental Company of São Paulo - (CETESB), the Federation of Industries of São Paulo - (FIESP), and the São Paulo Agency for Investment Promotion and Competitiveness - (Investe São Paulo). The objective of this agreement is to stimulate the development of a greenhouse gas (GHG) credit market in São Paulo. These gases include: carbon monoxide, sulfur oxides, nitrogen oxides, and volatile organic compounds.
The objective of this agreement is to create a market structure which is similar to the one already in place for the carbon credit market.
The mechanisms for generating GHG credits were created by State Decree # 50,753/06. The purpose of this decree is to reduce the emission of GHGs into the atmosphere, by improving industrial processes.
The decree further stipulates that companies intending to install factories in the state of São Paulo - in areas which are saturated with air pollutants or in the process of saturation - will need to offset their emissions. Therefore the credits they generate may be used to set up new ventures, to expand existing ventures or to meet reduction targets.