ALB reports that four Australian law firms have worked with banks and energy companies to create a set of guidelines to regulate secondary trading, under the Australian government?s Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme.
ALB reports that the firms Baker & McKenzie, Clayton Utz, Johnson Winter & Slattery, and Mallesons Stephen Jaques were all represented on the Australian Financial Markets Association committee that created the guidelines.
The report goes on to say
These guidelines also include directions for what should occur if the CPRS fails to go ahead ? however, Johnson Winter & Slattery partner Fiona Melville, who worked on drafting the standard documentation, said she expects the CPRS to pass by Christmas.
This will be accompanied by a sharp rise in legal work as businesses initiate their carbon strategies. ?As soon as it looks like it?s going to pass people will get busy on things they?ve been putting aside,? Melville said. ?We?ve been talking to quite a lot of people about their carbon strategy? and if they decide to manage their own then most likely it?s going to mean they?ll need a financial services licence.?
She said that many of her clients are waiting to find out if the legislation is definitely going to pass before applying for a license ? a process which can take up to a year. ?The financial services licence process is quite a lot of work ? for clients, but it?s also quite a lot of work for lawyers,? Melville said.
She added that while it?s unlikely that the government will classify permits as financial products, there is still a good chance that companies looking to operate an active trading book will require a licence.
Mallesons? banking & finance partner, Scott Farrell, who chaired the sub-group of AFMA?s carbon markets committee which developed the documentation, said that some companies are already looking to trade carbon credits to mitigate risk. ?The possibility that there could be a price for carbon in Australia is a risk that those entities have to manage now,? he said.
Full report at? http://au.legalbusinessonline.com/news/breaking-news/top-law-firms-hammer-out-carbon-trading-guidelines/37098
