World Bank fund sells 500,000 UN CO2 credits

The World Bank said on Tuesday it had sold 500,000 UN-backed certified emissions reductions (CERs) for its adaptation fund which finances clean energy projects in developing countries, according to Reuters.

The value of the deal was not disclosed. CERs for December 2011 delivery were trading at around 13 euros (USD18.44) a ton on Tuesday. The end buyers were not revealed but were spread across a range of sectors and regions, the bank said.

Bank of America Merrill Lynch acted as a dealer for the sale and has now sold a total of 1.6 billion CERs on behalf of the fund.

BofA-ML's head of carbon markets, Abyd Karmali, said the bank bought all of the CERs from the World Bank via spot contracts, and subsequently sold some of them as futures. The World Bank sells CERs on behalf of its adaptation fund regularly on exchanges and via over-the-counter transactions with dealers.

Since May 2009, it has monetized over USD148 million of CERs.