From EarthTimes:
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS) and Blue Source LLC today announced a strategic alliance that combines Goldman’s global leadership in commodities trading and financial risk management with Blue Source’s leading climate change portfolio. As part of the alliance, Goldman Sachs has purchased an equity stake in Blue Source LLC.Goldman Sachs will off-take, structure and market a broad range of verified emissions reductions (VERs) resulting from certain greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction projects in Blue Source’s portfolio, including those associated with methane management from coal mining, wastewater treatment, landfills and animal waste; energy efficiency; carbon capture and sequestration from fertilizer and natural gas production; and industrial gas destruction....MORE
While Lehman shut down its carbon trading operation last month (with $385 million in projects), the banks see this as a shot at replacing the revenue lost by the market's realization of the phoniness of the mortgage racket. And Goldman plans to be there. From our February 28 post: "Will carbon-trading happen? Goldman hopes so, backs APX":
The verifiers hold exactly the same position in the carbon world as appraisers do in the mortgage biz.
As we get into structured carbon finance (carbon notes, carbon backed securities) really slicing and dicing the cash flows, there will be room for all kinds of shenanigans. The key difference is that whereas Mortgage Backed Securities had real estate (even if overvalued) backing them, CBS's will be built on the absence of an invisible gas. Is it any wonder that GS is interested?
From VentureBeat:
APX, a Silicon Valley company that certifies carbon and emissions offset certificates, and which is well-placed to support carbon-trading markets when they emerge, has gotten backing from Goldman Sachs in a $14 million investment, VentureBeat has learned....
