Isra-Mart srl:CFTC authorized to regulate carbon-derivative market

www.isra-mart.com

Isra-Mart srl news:

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has the authority to regulate the nation’s nascent carbon-derivatives market, a government report concluded Wednesday.

The report – prepared by the Environmental Protection Agency, the Treasury, the Securities and Exchange Commission and several other regulatory bodies – said the Dodd-Frank bill granted the CFTC the power to oversee carbon-derivatives trading. Carbon-based instruments have yet to emerge on a national scale in the U.S. – but regional carbon-trading programs are springing up on the coasts, and a nationwide cap-and-trade initiative may still be in the offing.

A major energy bill – which could have included a cap-and-trade provision – was seen as a possibility in 2010, but the Obama administration elected to focus on financial and healthcare reform. With the GOP having taken control of the House, action on cap-and-trade is not likely in the near-term. Still, carbon trading could take hold in the future.

By mandating detailed reports of swaps trades, the Dodd-Frank legislation will provide for sufficient regulation of the carbon-derivatives market, Platts quoted the interagency study as saying.

“Comprehensive oversight of carbon derivative products, whether traded on an exchange or [over the counter], will be achieved,” it noted.