Early "Greenhouse Gas (GHG) trades" have taken place on a voluntary basis between firms motivated to hedge their risks against potential future regulations, in Europe, North America and Japan among others.
They do not only intend to trade for compliance but to influence policy development and to demonstrate environmental leadership.
Sellers of GHG credits sought to capitalize on the value of CO2 reductions and attract additional project financing for emissions reduction activities.
Most of the early trades were for Verified Emissions Reductions (VERs), which require verification from an independent third party and exist outside of regulated trading systems. However, types of trading are currently shifting to GHG permits issued under formal trading systems, for instance, UK emissions trading scheme or EU emissions trading scheme, and of course under the Kyoto Protocol. Natsource Japan provides its support of closing transactions by making good use of its group's international network for the market participants all over the world.