Carbon trading could become one of world’s largest markets – Macquarie Capital Funds
The carbon economy was receiving a lot of political support worldwide, especially from the US, with carbon trading set to become one of the largest markets in the world in future, Macquarie Capital Funds director Andrew Johnstone commented during a cogeneration conference on Tuesday.
He added that many people believed it was possible that a carbon central bank would eventually be set up for this purpose.
Johnstone explained that carbon trading could lead to a value of about $500-billion a year.
Meanwhile, he noted that the cost of renewable energy, which is sometimes more expensive than thermal energy, would at some stage in future probably be equal to the cost of thermal energy, as thermal energy prices were increasing.
Further, Johnstone said that while South Africa's power utility Eskom had fallen behind in bringing renewable energy on stream, the country had been doing capacity planning.
He added that South Africa was currently experiencing the biggest boom to date in terms of fixed capital formation and infrastructure construction.
He noted that there was also a huge momentum to focus on the power sector.
If South Africa invested in cogeneration, it would not only satisfy the country's current electricity needs, but would also position the country for future growth.