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Senator Dianne Feinstein Welcome Speech to Carbon Forum America 2008 CARBON FORUM AMERICA SETS THE STAGE For emissions Trading in the U.S. After two days of conference sessions, exhibitor presentations via “Side Events“ and interaction on the trade show floor, Carbon Forum America came to a close at the Moscone Center in San Francisco where the event took place on February 26-27, 2008. The event was jointly organized between the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) and the Chicago-based show organizer Koelnmesse, Inc. More than 1,400 companies , consultants and other delegates, including 80 exhibitors, felt the buzz of this first time event which surpassed all expectations making it the largest carbon trade fair and conference ever held on US soil. “This forum really generated an amazing spark of energy by bringing together existing global market players with new entrants from the US. There was a real buzz of enthusiasm about a market that is poised to take off in the US“, said Dirk Forrister, Managing Director of Natsource. Similar comments were heard from Evan Ard, Director of Marketing & Communication at Evolution Markets: “Carbon Forum America has instantly become the biggest and most relevant event in the carbon market in North America. There is a fast growing interest in the US and this event provided a great opportunity to present ourselves. The location choice is excellent and the organization was great. We also appreciated that attendees not only consisted of the Carbon community, but we saw Cleantech market players which provided some new opportunities for us“. Added Bill Brownell, Partner Resources, Regulatory & Environmental Law at Hunton & Williams: “Carbon Forum America supplied a wealth of current information on legal, policy and regulatory factors influencing the developing carbon markets in the United States. The forum also gathered an impressive array of individuals from the US, Europe and Asia shaping the carbon markets here and abroad“. This massive interest in the future of cap and trade system in the US is closely linked to expectations created by California’s exploration of State-level trading of greenhouse gas emissions allowances. In addition, interest was fueled by the RGGI alliance of North-East States proposing a trading system and the many Bills before Congress. 39 US States are now involved in the US Climate Registry. Delegates heard a message of support from California Senator Diane Feinstein and addresses from UN climate change officials, the World Bank and California gas utility Pacific Gas and Electric before breaking into sessions. Said Henry Derwent, President and CEO of the International Emissions Trading Association: “The success of Carbon Forum America is a vote of confidence for emissions trading in the US.This event – twice the size of any previous event in the US – shows that interest in emissions trading in the US is rapidly approaching the levels in the heart of Europe’s emissions trading scheme. Worldwide, carbon trade has doubled in the past year to $ 60 billion and the Congressional Budget Office have suggested it could reach $ 300 billion in the United States in the future. Added Mette Petersen, President of Koelnmesse Inc. “Over the last 12 months we have seen many small conferences in the US on this topic. Our goal was to create something new and different which would provide a higher level of interaction for this community. The 80 companies who opted to present themselves on our trade show floor overwhelmingly embraced this opportunity and gave us very positive feedback. We are also delighted with the broad interest from around the world with delegates representing 51 countries.” CARBON FORUM AMERICA (CFA) is the first Industry Trade Show and Conference for the emerging CO2 US market. CFA is a sister event of CARBON EXPO in Cologne, Germany and CARBON FORUM Asia in Singapore and is jointly organized by Koelnmesse Inc. and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA).