Carbon market lobby group appoints new director

London, 7 January: The Carbon Markets & Investors Association (CMIA) has appointed Miles Austin as its new director, effective on 1 February.

Austin joins the London-based industry group from emissions reduction project developer EcoSecurities, recently acquired by JPMorgan, where he was head of European regulatory affairs.

“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,” Austin said.

“We are very pleased to welcome Miles as such a well qualified new director to lead CMIA’s efforts over the coming year,” said CMIA president Abyd Karmali, also a managing director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch. “Our role as the leading voice for the carbon finance community will be all the more important in the coming months as climate change policy continues to evolve in a variety of fora around the world.”

A spokeswoman for EcoSecurities said that there are no plans to replace Austin immediately and his work will be assumed by other areas of the business.

CMIA represents 50 companies globally that finance, invest in and support activities that reduce emissions, claiming to represent some 75% of the carbon market.