EDF Trading environmental products head leaves firm

Fabio Nehme confirms he is leaving EDF Trading in Houston after six years to set up his own London-based business in environmental commodities

Fabio Nehme

Fabio Nehme, the Houston-based head of environmental products for the Americas at EDF Trading, left the company earlier this month, Energy Risk has learned.

Nehme departed from the French utility's trading arm to start his own business, which will be a London-based trading firm focusing on environmental commodities, he confirmed in an email. He declined to give further details about his plans.

Nehme, who had worked at EDF Trading since 2008, oversaw the company's activities in markets such as renewable energy credits, emissions, biomethane, biomass and weather derivatives. Before joining EDF Trading, Nehme worked for three years at the Washington, DC-based International Finance Corporation, the private-sector lending arm of the World Bank, where he was responsible for investments in renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in Asia, Africa and Latin America. He also previously worked for the energy arm of US-based aluminium giant Alcoa.

EDF Trading has not yet appointed a replacement for Nehme, a market source told Energy Risk. The company declined to comment.

Nehme last spoke to Energy Risk in August 2013, when he suggested that US plans to curb emissions using Environmental Protection Agency rules would be positive for investment in renewable energy. "Overall, the plan is an important signal for the renewable sector. It puts the weight of the government in supporting the development of more renewable energy, at a time that has been challenging for many renewable developers, not least because of the uncertainty over whether certain federal incentives will be extended or not," he said.