2010-01-10 11:18:46 - After a tumultuous 2009, the new director, Miles Austin, sees 2010 as pivotal.

FinSoul has learned of the recent appointment of Miles Austin as the director for The Carbon Markets and Investment Association (CMIA). Mr. Austin moves to lobby group from the JPMorgan owned carbon credit aggregation firm EcoSecurities, where he was head of European regulatory affairs.

The new director recently said in a statement, "Following the outcomes of the Copenhagen summit, 2010 will undoubtedly be one of the most challenging and interesting years for the future of international climate change policy."

FinSoul believes he added, "Amongst the many pressing topics we will be focusing on will be the fate of draft U.S. and Australian domestic emissions trading legislation."

Currently the U.S. climate change legislation is mired in the Senate whilst the Australian version of

the bill has twice been rejected by the opposition, but with government promising not to let up. Both proposed bills would see the launch of emissions trading markets in their respective countries.

On the back of a failed UN climate summit in Copenhagen, where efforts to establish a legally binding global treaty aimed at cutting greenhouse emissions where stalled, the carbon market sentiment has been depressed but in keeping with mature market trends, is showing signs of resilience and recovery, FinSoul understands analysts as saying.

The global carbon credit market edged up to $136 billion in 2009, compared to World Banks estimate of $126 billion for 2008, according to a recent report by Point Carbon.