Suranjan Cooray, chief executive of Carbon Asia, urged businesses to be compliant with the new regulations as it could help them get a competitive edge and new markets.
"You can actually steal other people's markets by being compliant," he told a seminar on carbon trading organised by the European Union office in Colombo.
Carbon Asia is a subsidiary of Asia Capital and a joint venture partner with Sindicatum Carbon Capital, a UK-based firm that provides expertise and funds in 'green' projects.
Cooray said there were new market opportunities in renewable energy, low carbon lifestyle products, clean technology and in training and education.
Capital markets regulators were introducing new rules for listed firms to disclose their risks to climate change and their carbon footprints.
Carbon footprint is a measure of how much an individual or industry contributes to