De Brauw has advised ING Bank on the financing of the "Luz Verde" (Green Light) carbon emissions reduction project under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the United Nations.

This is the first-ever "programmatic CDM" project, consisting of the distribution of energy-saving light bulbs to households in Mexico ahead of the UN climate conference this December. Cool NRG, an Australian organisation, will carry out this global first climate change initiative that will see carbon trading fund an energy efficiency and poverty alleviation programme on a mass scale. The project is supported by a partnership of three Dutch companies: Royal Philips Electronics, ING and Eneco.

Apart from being the first programmatic CDM project in the world, another interesting feature is the unique financing structure of the Luz Verde project. The borrower (Cool NRG) will service its debt to the lender (ING) entirely from the proceeds of the sale of carbon credits to the buyer (Eneco), which required an innovative security package.

Team
Sander Simonetti, Viviana Luján Gallegos