ABSTRACT
Environmental finance is a fast-growing field due to the need to develop innovative financial instruments to help protect the environment. Central to this process is the emergence of environmental commodities markets, in particular the carbon market. This environmental market is transforming the energy sector while at the same time shifting paradigms in economic development, including the practice of pricing carbon emissions for use in regulatory permit markets, rewards for voluntary action to reduce greenhouse gases, advances in energy efficiency, and the rise of new environmentally friendly energy sources.
