London (Platts)--30Aug2007

The Kyoto Protocol's International Transaction Log is set to go live in
November this year, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
     According to a statement issued Thursday by the UNFCCC secretariat in
Bonn, the 27 member states of the European Union are scheduled to link their
national registries to the ITL collectively in November.
     The registries are electronic accounts which hold emissions allowances or
carbon credits on behalf of companies or governments participating in
international emissions trading.
     The ITL is the central registry of the UNFCCC which directs carbon
credits from sellers to purchasers.
     Previously there had been some uncertainty over whether the European
Commission would allow those EU member states that had passed all eligibility
tests to link to the ITL as soon as they were able, leaving slower countries
behind, or whether it would insist on collective action.
     An EU spokeswoman was not able immediately to comment on the UNFCCC
statement, but said that the EC had decided that member states would link to
the ITL collectively.
     Seven Kyoto Protocol member states have so far achieved approval to link
their national emissions registries to the ITL, the UNFCCC said Thursday.
     The seven countries--Austria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Japan, New
Zealand, Switzerland and the UK--are also joined by the registry of the
Clean Development Mechanism, which holds carbon credits generated by Clean
Development Mechanism projects on behalf of the project sponsors.
     According to the UNFCCC, a further seven EU countries' registries "have
passed all technical tests and are currently finalizing their documentation,"
it said.

     UNFCCC REVIEWING INITIAL REPORTS FROM 32 MEMBER STATES 
     In addition to launching their registries, Kyoto member states must
submit reports that detail their work undertaken to implement the Protocol.
     So far, 32 of these "Initial Reports" have been submitted, and work on
reviewing the first three--from Austria, Japan and Switzerland--has been
completed, the UNFCCC said.
     The results from these first three member states will be considered by
the Kyoto Protocol's Compliance Committee in September.