Armen Vartanian, Director at EcoVentures shared in an interview with Emirates Business 24/7 that the Middle East and North African (Mena) region has a potential to generate $5bn a year from the carbon trading market.
Carbon World Doha 2009 panellist Eco Ventures will be speaking on the topic, “Carbon Asset Management-how to structure deals for forward sales of carbon credits and hedge against volatility of carbon prices.”
Mr. Vartanian noted that there was not a single project on carbon trading in the region yet. He expressed his view on the forces that will unlock the potential of the carbon markets in the region, “It depends entirely on the carbon market. We, as market participants, rely entirely on the market.”
He went on to add, “As long-term participants we are taking a bet that some sort of regulation will happen. There is a lot of interest. Doha Bank, for example has made a public announcement of their consideration to go into the carbon market.”
Doha Bank, another key panellist at Carbon World Doha 2009, announced in 2007 their aim to sell a $1 Billion sukuk to finance investment in renewable energy by mid 2008, using the money for projects such as setting up an exchange for trading greenhouse gas emissions permits.
In fact, Doha Bank plans to start the GCC’s first carbon-credits exchange in 2009 to tap the emerging market in emissions, although its fundraising efforts have been delayed due to the ongoing carbon market slowdown and global financial crisis.
In an interview, Doha Bank CEO Mr. R Seetharaman said the bank plans to invest $27 million in its electronic Qatari exchange, and has already spent $7million on a plot of land housed within Qatar’s Energy City business park development project.
Mr. Seetharaman, another key member of the CarbonWorld Doha 2009 panel, will be speaking on the topic, “Emergence of Carbon Exchanges in the Mideast & Trading Systems/Mechanism Worldwide & Its Impact on the Industry.”
Make sure you’re at Carbon World Doha 2009 to hear from these and other movers and shakers in the Global Carbon markets.
>>CLICK HERE TO CONFIRM YOUR PARTICIPATION for Carbon World Doha 2009!<<.
![[Post to Twitter]](http://www.carbonworldforum.com/wp-content/plugins/tweet-this/icons/tt-twitter.png){kind=icon}
Dr. Brent Pasula is an HSSE professional with more than 17years of experience in the Oil and Gas Industry.He holds a Ph.D. in Occupational Health and Safety Management from Edith Cowan University of Perth, Australia and has a breadth of knowledge that has assisted him in designing and implementing successful HSSE programs in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and North America.
Mahmut Sengul joined Schlumberger as a Production Enhancement Manager in 1997 after 17 years in the oil & gas industry. At Schlumberger, he took the positions as reservoir solutions manager, real-time operations leader in Gulf region and Production Engineering Champion in MEA.
Dr K C Narang is PhD from Indian Institute of Technology Delhi ,India and has 37 years of Cement industry experience in various positions and activities.
Shezan Amiji is the Managing Director of EcoVentures and is responsible for spearheading the establishment and growth of the business. Shezan Amiji also serves as Managing Partner at Solaris Capital LLC. Solaris Capital is a private investment fund based in the UAE and invests in middle market companies in the MENA region. The fund specialises in the media and environmental services industries. The fund was formed in 2004 and has generated returns in excess of 30% of invested capital over this period.
Ismail Abdel Rahim El Gizouli is an Energy & Environment Specialist with B.Sc. in. Mathematics. & Physics , from University of Khartoum, Sudan 1971 and M. Sc. in Operation Research & Statistics, University of Aston in Birmingham U.K 1980.
Mr. R Seetharaman has more than two decades of experience in banking, information technology and consultancy. He is a Chartered Accountant and holds certificates in IT Systems and Corporate Management.
Professor Martin Blunt is head of the Department of Earth Science and Engineering at Imperial College London. He joined Imperial in June 1999. Previous to this he was Associate Professor of Petroleum Engineering at Stanford University in California. Before joining Stanford in 1992, he was a research reservoir engineer with BP in Sunbury-on-Thames. He holds MA and PhD (1988) degrees in theoretical physics from Cambridge University.
Dr Paula Carey is a founding director of Carbon8 Systems Ltd, and has been working on the development of accelerated carbonation for the past ten years. She has expertise in aggregates, rocks and soils in the construction industry, particularly their durability in service.
Mark Lewis is a Managing Director in Commodities Research at Deutsche Bank and head of Carbon Research. His research on global emissions was ranked Number 1 by Energy Risk Magazine in its 2008 Survey of Commodities Investors.
Dr. Elwaleed Elmalik is currently the legal advisor of the Environment Agency/Abu-Dhabi. He was the senior advisor of the Ministry of Petroleum/UAE, prior to that he was legal advisor for the Ministry of Energy and Mining (Sudan).
Gardiner Hill is Technology and Engineering Manager for the Carbon Management Business (CMBU) in Alternative Energy. He is also a Special Advisor to the BP group on CO2 Capture and Storage (CCS) technology development, demonstration and deployment. He is the BP manager responsible for the BP/Ford/Princeton Carbon Mitigation Initiative (CMI) at Princeton University and the BP/Harvard partnership at the Energy Technology Innovation Project (ETIP) at the Kennedy School.
Tomas Nauclér is a director in McKinsey´s Stockholm office, where he joined the firm in 1992. He has primarily worked withEuropean utilities and basic materials companies, on strategic and growth related topics. Between 1995 and 1997 he worked atMcKinsey´s Seattle office primarily within the energy sector in Canada.
Steve McMillan joined IMEX as CEO of IMEX in May 2007. Based in Qatar, IMEX is establishing the first broker-exchange in the Middle East focusing on OTC Energy and Commodity markets. 
Souheil H. Abboud is EcoSecurities’ Middle East Regional Director. 
An interactive discussion on the Middle East’s vast potential for participation in the global carbon trade, as well as CDM project opportunities in the region, the CarbonWorld Interview will provide you with an exclusive sneak preview of the clarity of insights and level of interaction you will get as a delegate of Carbon World Doha 2009.
