Bloomberg debuts AAA-style carbon credit ratings

From today firms should find it easier to assess the risks associated with trading carbon credits after The Carbon Rating Agency announced that subscribers to Bloomberg's market data service will be able to access independent information on the reliability and effectiveness of emission-reduction projects.

The Carbon Rating Agency is a subsidiary of analyst IDEAcarbon and was launched last year with the goal of providing AAA-style credit ratings for carbon credits based on the likelihood of emission-reduction projects delivering promised emission cuts within the stated time period.

The service covers both the voluntary market and UN-approved Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation schemes, and also provides information on the social development benefits associated with specific projects.

Under an agreement with Bloomberg, the rating data and accompanying analysis tools have been made available to the 250,000 financial professionals that subscribe to the company's Bloomberg Professional market data service.

Ian Johnson, chairman of IDEAcarbon, said the partnership would help establish greater confidence in the market by allowing traders easy access to information on project risks. "Investors, traders and analysts now have access to unrivalled details on the agency's Market Initiated Ratings and a clear, transparent and unbiased declaration of these risks, to enhance transparency within the carbon market," he said.