After a decade, life for carbon credit generator EcoSecurities has turned full circle.

EcoSecurities was founded by carbon market pioneer Pedro Moura Costa in 1997. It was at the epicenter of the carbon credit boom after the approval of the Kyoto Protocol by the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The firm listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2005. Also, over this period, it acquired scale to become the largest developer of low-carbon projects eligible to issue carbon credits.

JP Morgan acquired EcoSecurities in 2009 for $220 million. However, it sold it in 2013 to Mercuria, the global energy, and commodity group.

Meanwhile, according to a Reuters report, Mercuria has now sold Ecosecurities back to Pedro Moura Costa and partner Pablo Fernandez for an undisclosed amount.

EcoSecurities to revamp for the new age of ESG

“The idea is to restructure the company and prepare it to take part in this new phase of carbon and environmental markets,” Moura Costa told Reuters.

Joining him is Pablo Fernandez, who arranged the management buyout of EcoSecurities from Mercuria. Pablo was a carbon trader at Mercuria.

Current businesses of EcoSecurities

A reference to the website shows the firm is engaged in the development of energy-efficient cookstoves in Myanmar and the Ras Ghareb wind energy project in Egypt.

It also owns a large portfolio of legacy projects developed in the past by the teams of EcoSecurities and MGM.

“While most of these projects are dormant, the contracts for these projects all have long crediting periods and would enable their reactivation if required,” says the website.

The existing portfolio contains 104 projects, located in 11 countries and using different technology types (renewable energies, industrial emission).

In aggregate, these projects will result in over 35 million tCO₂ emission reductions until 2020. An additional 30 million tCO₂ will be available to 2030.

Forthcoming opportunities

Regional carbon markets such as in Turkey, China, Australia, South Korea, and Colombia will offer scope for trading environmental assets. Further, trading offsets for carbon emissions from aviation and marine shipping also presents an opportunity, according to Costa.

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