Chicago Climate Futures Exchange’s U.S. Carbon Emissions Complex Sets New Record

Posted on November 5, 2008
Filed Under Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Trading | Leave a Comment

Chicago Climate Futures Exchange® (CCFE®), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. (CCX®), announced today that open interest in its futures and options complex for U.S. carbon emissions, which includes Carbon Financial Instrument® (“CFI®”) futures and options and Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (‘RGGI”) futures and options contracts reached a new record level.

Open interest for the CCFE RGGI products has reached a record level of 5,860,000 million short tons CO2. CCFE has traded 12,485 RGGI futures and options contracts, representing 12,485,000 RGGI allowances with trades occurring every business day since its first launched on August 15, 2008. RGGI is a CO2 Read more

China’s First Emission Trading Exchange Established

Posted on October 1, 2008
Filed Under Carbon, Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Market, Carbon Trading, China, China Carbon Market, China Carbon Trading, China Emissions Trading | Leave a Comment

China’s first comprehensive emissions trading exchange was set up in Tianjin Binhai New Area on September 25.

The Exchange was jointly established by CNPC Assets Management Co., an affiliate of China National Petroleum Corp., Tianjin Property Rights Exchange and the Chicago Climate Exchange, each taking 53 percent, 22 percent and 25 percent stake in the exchange. The Chicago Climate Exchange, which has been trading greenhouse gas emission allowances since 2003, is the world’s first emission trading exchange under a voluntary but legal binding scheme.

The Exchange will principally trade sulfur dioxide emission permits and chemical oxygen demand permits at initial stage, said the Chairman Dai Xiansheng.  Read more

Middle East: New frontier for sustainability

Posted on September 19, 2008
Filed Under Carbon Finance, Carbon Market | Leave a Comment

Eight months after world leaders met in Bali to chart the course to a low-carbon world, green initiative like carbon trading are gaining ground in a region long associated with Big Oil. The World Carbon Emission Reduction Summit in Abu Dhabi, unthinkable until recently, now attracts international heavyweights such as the World Bank, UNFCCC and UNEP FI CCWG.

“The level of interest we are currently witnessing is very encouraging,” says Björn Tore Urdal, Senior Equity Analyst (Energy) at Sustainable Asset Management. He predicts, “Undoubtedly, the Middle East will develop itself as a main hub for capital allocation into the low carbon economy.”  Read more

Environmental Defense Fund Launches Guide to Carbon Offsets

Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under Carbon, Carbon Credits, Carbon Market, Carbon Offsets, Carbon Trading | Leave a Comment

New Website Takes the Guesswork out of Identifying and Purchasing Carbon Offsets in Growing Voluntary Market

WASHINGTON, DC - September 10, 2008 - To help bring transparency to the fast-growing voluntary carbon offset market to combat climate change, Environmental Defense Fund today announced the launch of CarbonOffsetList.org, a first-of-its-kind online resource that will help businesses and consumers identify and purchase carbon offsets that represent real reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. Carbon offsets allow buyers to offset, or neutralize, carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced from their own activities by funding projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions elsewhere.

Developed through a rigorous review process in collaboration with a committee of external experts in the fields of science and policy, the website identifies 11 pre-screened, independently verified offset projects that meet Environmental Defense Fund’s criteria for high-quality carbon offsets. Environmental Defense Fund’s evaluation focused on the environmental integrity of the projects and whether projects could show verifiable and measurable proof of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. The approach focused on finding high-quality emissions reductions regardless of project type, technology or supplier. Read more

Gold Standard Registry Experiences Rapid Growth in Carbon Market Projects and Users

Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under Carbon, Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Finance, Carbon Market, Carbon Trading | Leave a Comment

APX Market System Tops Two Hundred Greenhouse Gas Reduction Projects

APX, Inc., the leading infrastructure provider for environmental and energy markets and the Gold Standard Foundation today announced that the Gold Standard Registry now includes more than 200 valid greenhouse gas reduction projects in various stages of approval, representing renewable energy and energy efficiency projects in over 30 countries. Of these, approximately 100 projects are far enough in their development as to be publicly posted in the Registry. The Registry, built and operated by APX, manages the full lifecycle of a carbon credit, including creation, serialization, transfers, and retirement, enabling trading of Gold Standard Voluntary Emissions Reductions (VER) credits and Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) credits around the world.  Read more

CantorCO2e Launches First Internet CER Auction

Posted on September 10, 2008
Filed Under CERs, Carbon, Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Finance, Carbon Market, Carbon Trading | Leave a Comment

CantorCO2e Limited announced today that it has launched an electronic internet-accessed auction platform for the sale and purchase of issued Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). The new service was unveiled today to an audience of the leading emission trading participants from Europe, Japan and the US; including banks, energy utilities and hedge funds; at the Park Lane Hilton Hotel in London. “The CantorCO2e auction service has been designed to allow CER buyers, big and small, to participate in the auction on a level playing field with each other. Additionally, many of the barriers to trading CERs that currently exist in the market, such as the requirement for buyers to become project participants in order to take delivery of the CERs, are eliminated when using the CantorCO2e auction.” said James Emanuel, Commercial Director at CantorCO2e. Read more

Dow Jones / CCX European Carbon Index and CER Index

Posted on August 27, 2008
Filed Under CER Index, Dow Jones CCX CER Index, Dow Jones/ CCX European Carbon Index, European Carbon Index | Leave a Comment

Dow Jones Indexes, a leading global index provider, and the Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX), the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding integrated greenhouse gas emissions reduction, registry and trading system, today announced the launch of the Dow Jones/CCX European Carbon Index and Dow Jones/CCX Certified Emissions Reductions (CER) Index, which serve as benchmarks for participants seeking exposure to the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme and Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), respectively. The two new indexes are the first in a series of global emissions indexes to be launched jointly by Dow Jones Indexes and CCX.

Emissions trading aims to reduce pollution using a market-based approach of providing economic incentives to companies that reduce their emissions beyond their target. In this system, also referred to as cap and trade, a government or other regulatory authority sets a cap on the amount of pollutants that can be emitted and distributes allowances, or credits, that represent the right to emit a specific amount. Companies that do not meet the cap buy credits from companies that emit below their specified amounts. The group as a whole meet the set environmental goal at least cost to society.

The European Union Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the largest multi-country, multi-sector emissions trading program in the world. The Clean Development Mechanism is a program under the Kyoto Protocol that allows developed nations committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing nations to offset the costs of lowering emissions in their own countries.  Read more

Chicago Climate Futures Exchange RGGI Futures And Options Contracts

Posted on August 20, 2008
Filed Under Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Finance, Carbon Market, Chicago Climate Exchange, RGGI | Leave a Comment

Chicago Climate Futures Exchange® (CCFE™), a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) Designated Contract Market, announces the successful launch of RGGI Futures and Options contracts.

On August 15 CCFE traded 60 RGGI Futures contracts (60,000 RGGI allowances) and 10 RGGI Options contracts (10,000 RGGI allowances), marking the first exchange traded transactions in the first mandatory, U.S. based CO2 cap-and-trade program.

“As a leader in emissions credits and renewable energy marketing and trading, we are very pleased to support the launch of the CCFE RGGI products and to be the first company to trade these products on the exchange,” said Mark Quartermain, president of Shell Energy North America. “Our participation in the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange complements Shell’s commitment to provide responsible energy solutions that reduce climate change while maintaining a diverse network of supply that helps meet North America’s and the world’s growing energy needs. This diverse supply includes renewable energy and future fuels in addition to traditional energy sources, such as natural gas and crude oil,” Quartermain explained.  Read more

EU ETS | Applications to participate in emissions trading auction open

Posted on August 20, 2008
Filed Under Carbon Finance, Carbon Trading, EU ETS | Leave a Comment

Organisations can now apply to become Primary Participants in the UK’s auctions for Phase II of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme. Primary Participants can bid directly for allowances and will act as intermediaries in the competitive element of the auctions, collecting and submitting bids on behalf of indirect bidders who wish to take part in the auction.

Any organisation with an EU ETS registry account can apply to become a Primary Participant, providing their organisation can fulfil the eligibility criteria.  Anyone who holds an EU ETS registry account can then bid for carbon allowances in an auction through the Primary Participants.   Read more

Chicago Climate Futures Exchange Offer RGGI Carbon futures and options contracts

Posted on August 16, 2008
Filed Under Carbon Contracts, Carbon Exchanges, Carbon Futures, Carbon Options, Carbon Trading, Chicago Climate Exchange, RGGI | Leave a Comment

Chicago Climate Futures Exchange® (CCFE™), a Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) regulated Designated Contract Market, will begin trading Friday, August 15, 2008 a Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative futures and options on futures contract (RGGI futures and options), each of which represent 1,000 RGGI allowances.

RGGI is a CO2 cap-and-trade emissions trading program comprised of ten New England
and mid-Atlantic states that will commence in 2009. RGGI will be the first government mandated
CO2 emissions trading program in the United States. The offering of the
contracts comes to meet the demand of several of the largest power producers in the
region that are already members of CCFE and CCX for a low cost, transparent, and

standardized platform to hedge against price fluctuations in the RGGI CO2 emissions market. Read more

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