Angus Barclay - Angus Barclay is the general manager of the International Affairs Department of Cathay Pacific in Hong Kong. His role includes managing Cathay Pacific's Environment Office as well as securing international operating rights for the airline both to and across other countries.
Angus joined the Swire Group in 1987 and has worked for three companies within the group in six countries. Within Cathay Pacific, Angus has held senior positions in Marketing and Revenue Management and served as country manager for India, Nepal, and Bangladesh, The Benelux, and Singapore.
Between 2000 and 2006, Angus was seconded first as the Swire Group's commercial manager in Australia and then as director and general manager of a Cathay Pacific Subsidiary, Cathay Pacific Catering Services (Hong Kong) Ltd.
Matthew Harrison - Matthew Harrison is current head of research and corporate development at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx). In that role, he supports certain of HKE's major market development projects.
He has been involved in HKE's exploration of the need for an emissions trading platform in Hong Kong for the past year. This project has involved studying overseas emissions markets, consulting local and overseas participants, and gauging local demand.
Matthew joined the Stock Exchange of Hong Kong (now part of HKEx) in 1993 and has been involved in research, planning, and project work relating to market development since then. He is a UK-qualified chartered accountant. Matthew is also the author of a book Asia-Pacific Securities Markets/i>, which has been through four editions.
Ian Johnson - Ian joined IDEAcarbon following a distinguished career at the World Bank. For eight years, he was the bank's vice president for sustainable development, overseeing its work on climate change and carbon finance.
As VP, Ian was responsible for policy, strategy, and oversight of the World Bank's work in environment, social policy, and agriculture and rural development. He was the chief spokesperson for the bank on all matters of policy related to environmentally and socially sustainable development.
Ian created and oversaw a major expansion in new and innovative funds including the bank's carbon finance business, the Global Environment Facility and Montreal Protocol funds utilised by the bank, the Critical Ecosystems Partnership Fund, and major funds for social and economic policy research.
Prior to that, he played a major role in negotiating the establishment of the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and was senior manager of its operations from 1992 for about six years.
Previously, he was an economist with the British government and spent five years in rural Bangladesh working with the United Nations and a voluntary organization.
Ian is presently an advisor to Globe, G8+5, and to the UNFCCC and Chairman of IDEAcarbon.
Christine Loh - Christine Loh is the founder and CEO of Civic Exchange, an independent, non-profit public policy think tank. Loh has an English law degree and a Masters of Law degree in Chinese and Comparative Law. She has been awarded the degree of Doctor of Law, honoris causa, by her alma mater, the University of Hull.
Loh has worked in many areas, including law, business, politics, media, and the non-profit sector, but is best known as a leading voice in public policy in Hong Kong, particularly in promoting democracy and environmental protection.
In January 200,7 she was named as Hong Kong Business's "Woman of the Year for 2006."
Shane Spurway - Shane Spurway is the head of Carbon Banking in Asia for Fortis Bank.
Spurway has been involved in the carbon and emissions markets since 2001, when he was founding partner of an Australian company that provided emission risk management and carbon advisory services in the region. Fortis Bank is the leading participant in the emission markets in Europe, offering the entire spectrum of carbon banking services.
In 2002, Spurway established the Hong Kong branch of the bank, expanded coverage to HKSE listed companies, and worked on various projects that would qualify for emission reduction credits via the Clean Development Mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
His work on emission abatement and renewable energy projects has spanned all major continents. Prior to this, he worked in the financial markets as a principal trader for leading international banks for fifteen years.
Commentators with experience of various aspects of the evolving carbon business provide immediate 5-minute reactions to the presentation before the floor is opened for all participants to comment, ask questions etc.
Public policy think tank Civic Exchange and the British Consulate-General co-organised a workshop to explore the latest developments in carbon trading and the implications for the financial centres of the world.
This workshop is supported by Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.
As the world considers how to meet the climate change challenge, financial centres such as Hong Kong must work out what positive role they can play to price greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This would be an important step in ensuring the right financial incentives are in place to achieve large emissions reductions within the foreseeable future.
The UNFCCC's flexible market mechanisms, including emissions trading and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), were designed to assist in that process but they face many challenges. There is expectation that significant progress can be made by the Conference of the Parties takes place in Copenhagen in 2009.
One of the hurdles for Copenhagen 2009 is how to adjust the flexible market mechanisms so that they work better, and how financial services can be reshaped to help the mitigation of and adaptation to climate change- Civic Exchange
