By Nathan Gill

Oct. 26 (Bloomberg) — Celfin Capital SA, a Santiago, Chile-based brokerage and investment bank, announced plans to create a carbon trading exchange in the country.

The Santiago Climate Exchange is a joint venture with Fundacion Chile, a government-sponsored entity promoting technological innovation, to encourage voluntary carbon reduction projects, Celfin Chairman Juan Andres Camus told reporters in Santiago today.

Chile, South America’s fifth-largest economy, may produce as much as 150 million metric tons of greenhouse gases by 2020, up from about 50 million tons in 2005, the brokerage said in a statement. Trading on the exchange should begin by the end of next year, Camus said.

“All the biggest companies in Chile will face the challenge of their carbon footprint,” said Camus, whose company oversees about $6 billion in assets. “This exchange should strengthen demand for carbon credits.”