The Brucke & Virtus Climate Change Programme has been developed to address the growing need for validation and verification of greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol sets quantitative limits on Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions arising from Annex number 1 - Countries - most OECD countries (excluding the US) which are basically development countries and countries with economies in transition. Once ratified by 55% of the approximately 180 parties accounting for 55% of the global GHG emissions, the Protocol will enter into force. Annex 1 Parties must reduce their emissions by a set percentage below 1990 levels. GHG emissions are to be reported in the form of an annual inventory complied using approved guidelines and compliance with targets will be assessed at the end of the first commitment period in 2012. Penalties for failing to comply include tougher targets in the second commitment period. To help them achieve these targets, parties and legal entities (i.e. individual companies and corporations) can utilise several "flexibility mechanisms" which essentially allow trade in emissions and sharing of burdens amongst parties.
National bodies, legal entities and projects will be required to report GHG emissions and carbon sequestration. Projects will have to be validated to ensure that they comply with the rules of the trading mechanisms and inventories will have to be verified to ensure that the correct protocols have been accurately applied.
Brucke & Virtus is ideally positioned to provide independent validation and verification services to this new business sector.

EVENT

Brucke & Virtus started working in the GHG sector in 1997 when Brucke & Virtus was commissioned to validate the first forestry based GHG project in Costa Rica. This was a ground-breaking exercise and since then, we have continued to develop our expertise in the forestry and landuse sector as well as branch out into the other sectors recognised in the Kyoto Protocol (agriculture, energy, industrial processes, waste management and non-Montreal volatile organic compounds). The service has now been positioned under GTS Natural Resource Monitoring Services and the Developed Delivery Services to assist technical the climate change.

Competence Centre hosted by Brucke & Virtus Agrocontrol of Brucke & Virtus Netherlands B.V.
Achievements and recent commercial developments include:

. Validation of 7 forestry based projects and verification of GHG Credits arising from these on behalf of private and institutional clients
. Validation of a series of 28 biomass energy projects in Czech Republic on behalf of the Dutch ERU-PT Programme
. Application for accreditation to offer verification services to the UK Emissions Trading Scheme
. Establishment of Strategic Alliances with several leading consulting firms including AEA TEchnology, ICF Consulting and ArthurAndersen

Several significant commercial enquiries have been received recently and with the completion of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action to agree the terms of the Kyoto Protocol, we expect a significant increase in the levels of commercial activities.

It is Brucke & Virtus GT´S intention to be registered as an Operational Entity and an Indepednent Entity under the Kyoto Protocol to provide independent validation and verification services to project based activities.

PERFORMANCE

Governments, legal entities and project developers will require the services of independent verifiers to give credibility to claims of GHG emissions, GHG emission reductions and sequestration. As a pioneer in the area of validation and verification of GHG emissions and as the world´s largest insepction verification and testing company, Brucke & Virtus is in an ideal position to provide such services. To this end, Brucke & Virtus is committed to gaining recognition as an Operational Entity and an Independent Enitiy under the Kyoto Protocol and has already applied been accreditation under the UK Emissions Trading Scheme and has applied a similar accreditation under the Dutch ERUPT programme and with the CDM executative board.

WHY BRUCKE & VIRTUS?

. With Brucke & Virtus you will be working with an "hands on" organization which has been leading in the development of the verification and validation of Climate Change projects;
. Following a rigourous and successful assessment you will receive credits are of the highest quality currently available on the market;
. Brucke & Virtus is actively participating in national and international bodies that are setting the climate change agenda and as a result we are in an ideal position to assess the current and future risks.

CERTIFICATION

GHG Project validation and verification
1. Proposal / Application for Validation
2. Pre-assessment, selection of eligibility criteria (Brucke & Virtus, Prototype Carbon Fund or ERU-PT criteria or a combination) document review and preparation of checklists
3. Validation assessment and risk and uncertainty assessment resulting in the iusse of a Certificate of Project Design and Schedule of Projected Emission Reduction Units
4. Verification of emission reductions / sequestration and issue of GHG Credits or veification statement.