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Volunteers at Carbon Expo

Photo © V. Krebs
Photo © V. Krebs
V. Krebs, revisión versión española Montse Capella
26 June 2009

For the first time in history, Carbon Expo, an annual event that focuses on the reduction of carbon emissions, was held in Barcelona, Spain, from 25 to 29 May 2009. Carbon emissions are one of the major causes of global warming. Fifty ICV volunteers participated in Barcelona helping to prepare Carbon Expo conference folders, provide welcome services and supervise rooms.

276 exhibitors from 83 countries and around 3,000 visitors from 111 countries attended the fair that brought together participants from various backgrounds, including professionals trading carbon emissions, as well as representatives from governments and the non-profit sector. During the sixth Carbon Expo, they shared experiences and gained knowledge of current topics and trends, technologies, projects and services. The event was organized by the World Bank, the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), Fira Barcelona and Koelnmesse.

Among the exhibitors were high-level government representatives from 47 developing countries and countries with economies in transition, who, with support from the World Bank, presented their current emission reduction projects and the related investment and development opportunities.

Altangerel Enkhabat, Head of Science and Technology Department, Ministry of Environment & Tourism of Mongolia, comments: "Carbon Expo is an important tool for developing countries to disseminate their message to their carbon partners. It also serves as a good opportunity to establish a partnership between developing countries and project developers, buyers and international institutions.†For Teresa Ribera, Secretary of State for Climate Change of the Spanish government, Carbon Markets are one of the most efficient tools in climate change policies and will increase their importance in the years to come.

Volunteers contributed some 2,500 hours to this project. Iryna Churay, originally from the Ukraine and now living in Barcelona, was one of them. She comments: "I am grateful that I was able to participate in this event. It was a great experience". Both she and her daughter had decided to sign up for the event. Alejandra Pichiling from Barcelona enjoyed the team spirit: "My group in the museum was really nice! We worked well together and I hope to have more experiences with them in other projects."

Several volunteers joined in from abroad, working behind the scenes to make it all happen. Among them was Roberto Paradis, originally from Mexico, who was one of the project coordinators. He tells us his story: “coordinating this kind of project was a challenging yet very rewarding experience for me. I enjoyed working with different actors and interact with people who share interests and values that are the same to mine.â€

Assumpcio Vila, President of ICVoluntaris-Barcelona since 2006 comments: “it is great to see the development of ICV and seeing it involved in important events such as Carbon Expoâ€.


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