Norway is looking to buy credits from the Clean Development Mechanism

On behalf of the Kingdom of Norway, the Ministry of Finance (MoF) is announcing its first tender for credits from Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI) projects to obtain emission reductions eligible under the Kyoto Protocol.

Tender documents and relevant information are available at www.CarbonNeutralNorway.no. The purpose of CarbonNeutralNorway.no is to give relevant and equal information to all participants. The tender closes 9 November. The Government will only acquire UN-approved carbon credits, and only sell credits in the European market. 

By entering into a purchase agreement with the Kingdom of Norway, a project promoter will enjoy the benefit of having a reliable counterparty with more than 50 years experience in international development cooperation, and with AAA rating from all major international rating agencies. A purchase agreement should help facilitating bank financing of the investments in question, reducing the risk to the commercial and financial performance of a project.

Main features of the tender procedure:

• In this tender, MoF will contract credits for a total of up to 200 mill. Norwegian Kroner. Offers may be denominated in US Dollar, Euro or Norwegian Kroner.
• MoF will buy up to 1 mill. CERs/ERUs from individual projects. The minimum volume from individual projects is 50,000 tons combined for the 2008-2012 period.
• The deadline for submission of tenders is 9 November 2007 at 1300 hrs CET. MoF aims to start the process of concluding contracts by mid December 2007.
• To promote the development of the carbon market, MoF will pay special attention to projects which are at an early stage in the investment process, and to projects in countries where there currently are few or no registered projects.
• Payments will only be made against delivery of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) and Emission Reduction Units (ERUs).
• All projects which are registered or designed with the aim to be registered by the UNFCCC Executive Board as a CDM-project, or designed as Joint Implementation projects, are eligible.
• Hydroelectric projects above 20 MW installed capacity should be based on international good practice, and comply with international thresholds and criteria for the eligibility of hydro projects.
• The Norwegian Government attaches great importance to promoting corporate social responsibility. CSR is consequently considered when contracts are rewarded by MoF.
• Tenders may be submitted by e-mail, registered mail or by hand delivery.
• All communication should be in English.