Washington, 18 May 2011

The World Bank (International Bank for Reconstruction and Development), as Trustee for the Adaptation Fund, completed an auction of 200,000 tons of certified emission reductions (CERs) today at a price per ton of EUR 12.52. The auction, the first on behalf of the Adaptation Fund, was held on BlueNext Exchange’s platform.

The auction generated strong interest, being 6.8 times oversubscribed. The World Bank serves as Trustee for the Adaptation Fund, and conducts CER sales for the Fund. The primary funding for the Adaptation Fund comes from a two percent share of proceeds of CERs issued under the Clean Development Mechanism. In addition to today’s auction, the World Bank sells CERs on behalf of the Adaptation Fund regularly on exchanges and through over-the-counter transactions with approved dealers. Through May 18th 2011 the World Bank has monetized approximately US$ 160 million worth of CERs.

BlueNext is one of the world’s major environmental trading exchanges, and is the market leader in spot sales for both CERs and EUAs (European Union Allocations). Under its Safe Harbour Initiative all allowances traded on the exchange have their chain of title traced back to their source.

Ana Fornells de Frutos, Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board, said, "with the Adaptation Fund supporting concrete adaptation projects and programs to help vulnerable communities adapt to the adverse effects of climate change, we are delighted to see such demonstrative proof of the strong market appetite for Adaptation Fund CERs."

Doris Herrera-Pol, Director and Global Head of Capital Markets at the World Bank, said, “this transaction marks an important step in the CER monetization strategy for the Adaptation Fund which we began to implement in 2009. The success of this auction has broaden the gamut of tested and proven approaches for conducting CER sales for the Fund, from over-thecounter and exchange-traded to auction-based.”

François-Xavier Saint-Macary, CEO of Bluenext, said, “We are very proud to hold this auction on behalf of the Adaptation Fund; proud too of the strong participation of our members. It is also good to know that the funds generated through the auction will go to funding further projects in developing countries.”

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