|
PRZOOM - /newswire/ -
San Francisco, CA, United States, 2008/05/13 - 3Degrees, a leading provider of high-quality renewable energy and greenhouse gas emission (GHG) reduction credits, transacted the 1st ever transfer on Gold Standard Foundation’s Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER, also known as carbon offset) Registry.
|
|
“We’re fully committed to finding the highest quality offset projects that demonstrate a real benefit to the climate and sustainable development,” said Dan Kalafatas, President and COO of 3Degrees. “Gold Standard and premium quality go hand-in-hand -- we’re proud to be involved in this important registry for the carbon markets and the planet.”
This transaction was between 3Degrees and Meridian Energy, which operates a Gold Standard verified wind power project in New Zealand. 3Degrees will retire the VERs on behalf of its customer, News Corporation, the diversified entertainment company, as part of News Corp.’s commitment to reach carbon neutrality by 2010. To achieve this goal, News Corp. is investing in carbon offsets to address its unavoidable emissions.
This transfer represents the first in a long line of VER transactions in the newly launched Registry for high-quality carbon offsets that are verified under the Gold Standard’s internationally recognized project protocols. The Registry software was developed and is maintained by APX, Inc, the leading infrastructure provider for environmental markets in greenhouse gases and renewable energy.
The Gold Standard Foundation provides a quality label for carbon projects and credits that promote renewable energy and energy efficiency and foster long-term sustainable development. The Gold Standard method is endorsed by over 60 environmental NGO's internationally and is preferred by many carbon market actors in both the public and private sector. The Registry’s market infrastructure provided by APX prevents double-counting of Gold Standard VER credits and provides numerous public reports and a full audit trail of all transactions to ensure the integrity of all Gold Standard VER credits.
3Degrees offers customers turn-key climate solutions that are globally sourced from more than 200 projects around the world. Projects are selected through an in-depth due diligence process and are third-party verified against transparent multi-stakeholder standards. This process ensures that 3Degrees carbon offsets represent real, verified, additional and permanent GHG emission reductions.
Meridian Energy reports that, in addition to Gold Standard, the Te Apiti wind farm has been recognized by the New Zealand Government as providing a tangible reduction in emissions. Meridian also says the projected revenue from the sale of its carbon credits made the Te Apiti wind farm commercially viable and it is unlikely it would have been built otherwise.
About 3Degrees
3Degrees enables businesses and individuals to fund renewable energy and carbon reduction projects. We do this by originating and providing high quality Renewable Energy Certificates and Verified Emission Reductions (aka, carbon offsets from around the world to help our partners reduce their environmental footprint. 3Degrees has served hundreds of U.S. and international business customers. Beginning in 2002, the 3Degrees team emerged as an early leader in the renewable energy marketing industry and has since set the standard for turn-key climate solutions.
About News Corporation
News Corporation (NYSE: NWS, NWS.A; ASX: NWS, NWSLV) had total assets as of December 31, 2007 of approximately US$69 billion and total annual revenues of approximately US$31 billion. News Corporation is a diversified entertainment company with operations in eight industry segments: filmed entertainment; television; cable network programming; direct broadcast satellite television; magazines and inserts; newspapers and information services; book publishing; and other. The activities of News Corporation are conducted principally in the United States, Continental Europe, the United Kingdom, Australia, Asia and the Pacific Basin.
In May 2007, News Corporation announced its company-wide commitment to helping solve the climate problem by reducing its own emissions and engaging its employees, business partners, and audiences on energy and climate change issues.
Contact:
Caitlin Sparks, The Gold Standard Foundation
P: 510.908.1210
Reiner Musier, APX, Inc. P: 617.699.0929
Jack Horner, News Corporation
P: 212.852.7952
|