29 March 2004 — Ottawa, Ontario: Natsource® LLC, through its Canadian subsidiary GCSI, and in partnership with Canada’s Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation (CDM/JI) Office, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and in co-operation with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) of Delhi, India, today announced the creation of a targeted lending Facility to stimulate Clean Development Mechanism projects (CDM) in India.  The Facility, which will be funded with CDN $300,000 from the two partners will provide financial support to Indian entities to undertake required  CDM preparatory activities.

“We believe that India will be a significant source of CDM projects,” said Jack Cogen, President of Natsource.  “Our partnership with the Government of Canada is a winning proposition. It will benefit local project developers, stimulate technology transfer, and offer cost-effective reductions to Canadian firms. “  

Financial support from the Facility will be used for the development of the Project Design Documents (PDD’s) that are required to document the Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) created by CDM projects. The CERs will be marketed exclusively in Canada for a ninety-day period.

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), will be involved in identifying and screening potential CDM projects, and will assist in the development of the PDDs.   “This Facility will assist local developers to reduce some of the up-front costs of CDM project development,” noted Dr. R.K. Pachauri, Director-General of TERI.  “The projects assisted by this facility will benefit India’s development and the fight against climate change.” 

A call for project proposals will be made in April 2004 and applications will be accepted until May 31, 2004. Further information on the Facility and its activities will be made available through a series of upcoming CDM regional workshops in India.

-- more --

Natsource® LLC is a provider of strategic advisory, brokerage, and asset and portfolio management services for energy related products in emissions allowance, power, natural gas, coal, and weather hedging markets. The pioneer in energy and environmental brokerage, Natsource assists leading organizations and governments around the world in strategic management of energy and environmental risk. Natsource is headquartered in New York and has global reach in all of the world's major financial centers.

GCSI - Global Change Strategies International is a Canadian subsidiary of Natsource and is a leader in providing strategic advice to industry and governments on global environmental issues, with a particular emphasis in climate change.

For further information on the Facility or any of the entities listed above, please consult the following websites:  Natsource® LLC – www.natsource.com; GCSI – Global Change Strategies International – www.gcsi.ca; Canada’s Clean Development Mechanism and Joint Implementation Office – www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/cdm-ji; The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI) – www.teriin.org