Cathy Lee Advises MaineHousing on Model Carbon Trading Program

WESTBROOK, ME — Cathy Lee, of Lee International, is the lead carbon markets advisor to the Maine State Housing Authority (MaineHousing) in a model carbon quantifcation program supported by a grant from the Ford Foundation. MaineHousing is the first state housing finance agency in the country to develop a model program to quantify, verify, certify and sell carbon emission reductions created by energy efficiency improvements in low-income housing.

The program's first carbon emission reduction agreement was signed April 22, 2008 between Unity College, Unity, Maine, and MaineHousing, with the college agreeing to purchase carbon emission reductions derived from MaineHousing's energy efficiency programs. This is the first such carbon emission reduction in Maine.

MaineHousing will use the funds it receives to create additional affordable, environmentally sound, energy efficient housing.

"This is a winning situation for everyone," said MaineHousing Director Dale McCormick. "It creates funds for more energy efficient affordable housing, it contributes to further reductions in carbon emissions, and it extends the benefits of the carbon market to low-income people."

Unity College, known as America's Environmental College, is a small private college in rural Maine that provides dedicated, engaged students with a liberal arts education which emphasizes the environment and natural resources.

MaineHousing, Maine's housing finance agency, provides funding for affordable homes and apartments for Maine's low and moderate income households. The agency has applied for a Ford Foundation grant to support the development of a model program. The sale of carbon emission reductions to Unity College will be among the first, and will set the stage for expansion of the program.

For more information on the program, see this news release or the Carbon Quantification Program page under Green Initiatives at mainehousing.org.

Lee International helps organizations benefit strategically and financially from carbon emissions trading schemes. Our focus is on Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in developing countries, emission reduction projects for the voluntary markets in the USA and Europe, and the new mandatory regional trading programs in the USA, such as the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). The firm provides a full complement of legal, regulatory and advisory services connecting buyers and sellers in Brazil, South Africa, China, Canada, EU, and the USA, while monitoring emerging carbon trading programs in the United States.

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