CFTC | IATP

Wheat futures prices and the war on regulation

Wheat futures prices reached near historic highs recently, increasing by 50% in the globally price influential Chicago futures market since the Russian military began its invasion of Ukraine on February 24.

Will the CFTC greenlight a carbon emissions’ offset market boom (and bust)?

A recent series of meetings of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC) highlighted the risks of a forecast boom in offset emissions futures contract trading. The underlying assets of offset futures are projects to reduce, avoid or that claim to permanently remove greenhouse gas emissions.

Comments to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the proposed creation of a carbon markets subcommittee of the Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee

We thank the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC, or Commission) for the invitation to comment on the proposal by the Commercial Energy Working Group to form an EEMAC carbon markets subcommittee.1 The proposed stakeholder group would produce a report on principles for designing the derivatives and underlying cash markets for

Voluntary CO₂ emissions offset trading: The CFTC must examine risks of deceptive emissions reduction reporting

The role of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions credit trading to achieve the objectives of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has been debated since the authorization of international emissions trading in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC.

IATP comment on the Task Force on Scaling Voluntary Carbon Markets phase II public consultation document

Download a PDF of the comment letter. 

Kill switches and price limits: Safety valves of legalized excessive speculation

In practice, financial markets often operate very differently from how they should operate according to investment theory. Markets are supposed to discover prices freely through a process of transparent bids, offers and price settlement mediated by neutral exchanges.

What underlies the underlying (asset) of CO₂ emissions offset futures contracts?

On March 3, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) proudly announced the first trading results of its Global Emissions Offset (GEO) futures contract.

The real value of water

Valuing Water is the theme of the 29th World Water Day this year. Valuing Water and Enabling Change also happened to be the theme of the Annual Report of the World Economic Forum’s 2030 Water Resources Group (now hosted by the World Bank) last year.

Futurizing water prices: How, why and who may benefit?

Whether you are an industrial, agricultural, commercial or household user of water, here is a line that is very unlikely to appear on your next bill: “financial innovation management fee.” Nevertheless, like the claims to trade stocks from your phone without fees, the cost of “financial innovation” could be hidden in water bills. How could financial innovations — new financial products promising benefits for those who understand what they are and how to use them — affect those water bills?   

Market manipulation, excessive speculation and price fixing in commodities

On October 15, by a 3-to-2 vote, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) approved a woefully inadequate final rule to prevent market manipulation and excessive speculation in physical commodity derivatives contracts.