Natsource

NATSOURCE-TULLET (NATSOURCE) IS an international company based in Alberta, Canada. It is one of many international companies that respond to the needs of governments and corporations for assistance in meeting the demands of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction policies. There are three major branches of Natsource business: Advisory Services, Transaction Services, and Asset Management Services. Advisory Services assist in developing policies whereby markets are created for GHGs and air pollutants. Additionally, the company advises clients on the impact of potential policies. Transaction Services assist interested parties in establishing a route for transactions for trading environmental goods and renewable energy. Finally, Natsource Asset Management (NAM) services manages the Greenhouse Gas Credit and Aggregation Pool (GG-CAP), which closed in 2007, holding commitments from 26 parties valued at greater than $550 million. Additionally, NAM oversees Aeolus, which is a series of on-shore and offshore funds.

NAM's GG-CAP is the first private sector plan to assist global nations in meeting GHG emissions standards. The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the Kyoto Protocol have set the major emissions-reduction standards. While meeting these [Page 698]reductions will ultimately protect the environment and industry for a longer period of time than current standards would. Meeting them requires great financial commitment, which may be a burden to some developing countries. Therefore, the GG-CAP established a pool of capital that will be used to buy and trade emissions-reductions credits. Thus, a company with emissions under the standards can sell its extra credits to another company that is struggling to meet standards. These extra credits would be at a lower cost to the purchasing company than the restructuring needed to meet the standards. The principle behind this trade is that the selling company is rewarded for exceeding standards, and the purchasing company is given extra time to meet those standards, without penalty. Overall, the same net amount of emissions is effectively released, as if the two companies had both met standard allowances.

The Natsource Asset Management Services (NAM) is based in the Calgary office; other offices around the globe are located in La Paz, Bolivia; London; New York; Ottowa; Tokyo; and Washington, D.C. Each office is situated to address specific regional concerns in an international context. For example, the La Paz office manages Latin American interests and monitors carbon dioxide emissions reductions in this region, while the London office manages the interests of the United Kingdom and in Europe.

The New York office focuses on international efforts; the Washington, D.C., office works to engage all levels, such as corporations, governments, and other institutions, in policymaking. The Ottowa office houses Natsource's Global Change Strategies International (GCSI). The purpose of GCSI is to provide consultation regarding climate change and other broad environmental issues. Finally, the Tokyo office serves Japanese corporations.