Joint Implementation
EcoSecurities was founded in January 1997 by Moura Costa and environmental economist Marc Stuart to provide "environmental finance solutions". Twelve months later, in December 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was signed creating binding commitments for reductions in greenhouse gas emissions among industrialised countries. It also created the Flexibility Mechanisms, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), that enabled the creation and use of carbon credits from greenhouse gas emission reduction projects. Carbon trading gradually evolved from being a niche environmental activity to becoming a global market that in 2010 mobilised over €120 billion, including trades under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and the UN flexibility mechanisms.