Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Regulator forecasts surge in emissions trading

The banks and brokers are looking to a) rebuild their balance sheets and b) replace the revenue streams lost in the mortgage mess.
From the Financial Times:

Carbon emissions trading could become the world's leading derivatives product as businesses in Asia and the US move to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and competition intensifies between exchanges, according to a senior US market regulator.

Bart Chilton, a commissioner at the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said: "I can certainly see carbon becoming the biggest of any derivatives product in the next four to five years. And that would of course mean overtaking T-bills [Treasury] and any contract that is out there right now."

Mr Chilton's forecast is the most optimistic assessment to date by a US regulator of the market potential for carbon emissions trading. Although emissions trading in both the US and Asia remains relatively limited, he said both markets could take off "very rapidly"....MORE