About Carbon Market Solutions
CMS offers Brokerage and Carbon Transaction services both in New Zealand and Internationally
Carbon Market Solutions was established in 2003 as a New Zealand registered company by New Zealanders, with the aim to assist New Zealand companies to transact in the international carbon market.
CMS has been a pioneer in the development of the carbon market in New Zealand. CMS staff and consultants have decades of experience in working on climate change projects globally as advisors, as brokers, traders, and investors. The CMS founders have also been partners in carbon trading companies in London and Moscow, Carbon Capital Markets and C6 Capital. CMS staff and founders have extensive experience working in all regions of the world with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and the joint implementation (JI) mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.
John O’Brien
Managing Director
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John is the main founder of CMS back in late 2003. He has more than 25 years of working on climate change, with climate finance and in global carbon markets working both in the private sector and with international organizations. He holds a Masters.
John has worked in the carbon markets in New York, London, and Moscow and has travelled to over 70 countries working on climate finance projects.
John was instrumental in helping broker 3 of the first 4 ever carbon credit deals from New Zealand. John has extensive experience with carbon brokerage, carbon trading and in developing emission reduction projects. Outside of work, John enjoys travel, reading, and football.
John is based in Wellington, New Zealand. He speaks English, French, Spanish and some Russian.
Daniel O’Brien
Chairman
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Daniel is a CMS shareholder and early investor. Daniel has more than 20 years of experience working with large corporates in the area of fintech, climate tech, venture capital, start ups, web based solutions to assist with business expansion. Prior to his leadership roles in the area of fintech, Daniel was a software programmer. He has held senior roles in large tech companies in both Europe and New Zealand working in business development.
Daniel holds an MBA from INSEAS in France. He returned to live in New Zealand from France in 2011. Outside of work, Daniel enjoys running, working out, and spending time with his family.
Daniel is based in Wellington, New Zealand. He speaks English and French.
Michael Devoe
Head of Carbon Sales
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Michael joined CMS in 2018. Michael has more than 30 years working first as a geologist and later in banking, finance, and then carbon markets in both Europe and in New Zealand. Michael’s previous experience has been as a banker in the metals and mining sector for a large German bank based first in Germany and later in Kiev, Ukraine. Michael built and then successfully sold his own mining business in Ukraine.
Michael holds a BsC in Geology from the University of Auckland and an MBA from Nyenrode Business University in the Netherlands.
Outside of work, Michael enjoys long walks and sampling different types of beer. Based in Europe and in Auckland, New Zealand, he speaks English, Dutch, German, and Russian.
Harrison Bissell
Carbon Broker
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Harrison Joined CMS in September 2022 coming from the retail power market. He was first exposed to mandatory carbon markets while finishing his studies in 2019. In 2021 he became and remains an NZ ETS participant.
Prior to this Harrison travelled extensively, working domestically and abroad in a raft of industries from adventure tourism to mining. He began to understand the gravity of the climate challenge we collectively face and the need for innovation to tackle it. He is a vehement believer that carbon markets are the solution to fuel this innovation.
Harrison Graduated from Victoria University of Wellington with a BCom in Economics and Finance. Harrison is based in Auckland.
Simon Smith
Carbon Broker
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Simon joined the CMS team in October 2021 and is currently in his fourth year at the University of Canterbury studying a Bachelor of Forest Engineering (Hons). Through his studies Simon has gained familiarity with the forestry side of the carbon sector (specifically NZU’s) and is excited at the prospect of obtaining further experience in the carbon industry.
Outside of university his interests include a love for the outdoors as well as a developing interest in commerce and business.
Simon is originally from Rotorua, and is currently based in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Steve Drapaka
Research Analyst
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Steve joined the CMS team in March 2023. Steve is a qualified social studies teacher with a Masters Degree in History from the University of Alberta in Canada. He has over eight years of experience as a qualified history and languages teacher working in the Middle East, Mexico, and Canada.
Steve is passionate about the carbon market as a means of reducing emissions and protecting the environment. In his free time, Steve enjoys hiking, golfing, playing piano, traveling, and studying languages.
Based in Fairview Alberta in Canada, Steve speaks English, French, Polish, German, Spanish as well as having studied Hungarian and Persian.
Jemma Dixon
Junior Research Analyst
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Jemma joined CMS in February 2023. Jemma holds a Master of Arts in English Literature with First Class Honours from the University of Auckland. Before joining Carbon Market Solutions, she worked as a Technical Writer in Wellington. Jemma is currently pursuing an additional degree in Psychology at the University of Auckland, in addition to being passionate about the emission of CMS.
Jemma brings her enthusiasm and diverse experiences to the CMS team, having travelled to the USA, UK, and Europe, she lived in France for a year before returning to New Zealand.
Outside of work, Jemma enjoys learning new languages and staying active by paddle boarding, hiking, and running with friends. She is based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Sean Rota
Projects Manager
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Sean Rota has over 30 years experience working in government relations and in the private sector as a project manager of construction projects. In addition, he has extensive experience working in the alcohol and beverages sector.
In his spare time he enjoys working out, watching rugby, and spending time with his family. Sean is based in Auckland, New Zealand.
Lote Raikabula
Senior Advisor
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Lota Raikabula represented New Zealand as an international rugby player for 10 years from 2006-2016 and since then he has worked as a sevens rugby coach in Sri Lanka and Thailand. Lote is a conservationist with extensive experience in planting mangroves.
In his spare time, Lote enjoys working out, playing touch rugby, and spending time with his family.
Matt Kuklinski
Web Support
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Matt has over 25 years of work experience as a software engineer working both in Europe and more recently in New Zealand. Matt has a Masters in Applied Finance from the Victoria University of Wellington and a Bachelor of Engineering from the University of Canterbury.
In his spare time, he enjoys supporting the Argentine football team and playing Age of Empires. Matt speaks English and Spanish.
Our History
2003
Carbon Market Solutions or ‘CMS’ was founded at the end of 2003 as a New Zealand registered company, by John O’Brien and Wayne King to help New Zealand companies participate in the international carbon market. CMS was the lead broker on three of the first four ever carbon credit deals from New Zealand in the international carbon market
which involved selling carbon credits from two landfill gas projects and one wind project. CMS was active as a carbon broker before the New Zealand Emissions Trading scheme started back in 2008.
During this period, CMS was involved in a number of carbon market firsts in New Zealand.
2005
In 2005, we brokered the first ever landfill gas carbon credits project from New Zealand to Austria. In 2006, we brokered the second ever landfill gas carbon credits project from New Zealand to the UK and it was also the first time that Kyoto carbon credits were sold from New Zealand to a private company in the UK. In 2007, we were also the first company in New Zealand to sell verified emission reductions (VERs) in New Zealand from the Awapuni and Burwood landfill gas projects to various clients and customers in New Zealand. This includes being the first company in New Zealand to sell VERs to an airline back in 2007.
2009
Then in 2009, we were the first company to sell New Zealand Units (NZUs) from forestry converted into Assigned Amount Units (AAUs) from New Zealand to Norway via the international transaction log in the New Zealand registry in what was the world’s largest Kyoto carbon credit forestry deal at the time.
In 2009, Wayne King took over the company as John O’Brien left to live in Europe (Slovakia and Turkey) working with the United Nations. Between 2009-15, CMS was active in assisting companies to import Kyoto carbon credits (certified emission reductions (CERs) and emission reduction units (ERUs)) into New Zealand, as well as assisting companies to buy and sell New Zealand Units (NZUs) and Verified Emission Reductions (VERs). Since the company was incorporated, CMS has sold over NZD 100 million of New Zealand Units (NZUs) in the international market and in New Zealand with our smallest deals being less than 100 NZUs and our largest deals being 500,000 NZUs in one trade
2011
Carbon Market Solutions is also an investor in New Zealand forestry. In 2011, we invested in the Craigmore Forestry Fund in carbon forestry in New Zealand which generated an additional return from carbon credits. Together with other investors, we exited this investment in 2019. CMS is currently exploring other opportunities to invest in forestry in New Zealand together with other partners. Carbon Market Solutions is also active in exploring carbon market opportunities to develop carbon offset projects in other countries including in the South Pacific.
2022
In April 2022, John O’Brien returned to New Zealand CMS to lead the company and help it to develop its carbon offset project development capacity to complement our experience with brokerage and trading.
CMS has also been active in the voluntary market in New Zealand since 2007. We have assisted over 30 companies in New Zealand with going carbon neutral, in some cases assisting them with carbon assessments and with purchasing verified emission reductions (VERs) from both New Zealand voluntary market offset projects and from VER projects in the international carbon market. A list of the companies that we have worked with in the past and more information can be found here.