The ECX, owned by Climate Exchange PLC, will trade the CER options on partner IntercontinentalExchange's platform, and clear the contracts with LCH.Clearnet, the exchange said in a statement.
LONDON (Reuters) - The European Climate Exchange (ECX), the world's largest marketplace for the trade in emissions permits, will begin trading options on carbon offsets issued under the Kyoto Protocol on May 16, the exchange said Wednesday.
The ECX, owned by Climate Exchange PLC, will trade the CER options on partner IntercontinentalExchange's platform, and clear the contracts with LCH.Clearnet, the exchange said in a statement.
The European-style options will be priced in euros and will cover all years under Kyoto's first commitment period (2008-12).
Trade in CERs, which are issued by the United Nations' climate change secretariat under its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) scheme, accounted for more than a quarter of the $60 billion global carbon market in 2007, according to carbon market analysts Point Carbon.
!ADVERTISEMENT!The CDM allows companies in rich countries to invest in clean energy projects in developing nations, and in return receive carbon credits to sell or to use to offset their own emissions.
NYMEX's New York-based Green Exchange launched their own CER options on April 20.
For additional analysis on the carbon markets, go to http://www.reutersinteractive.com
(Reporting by Michael Szabo; Editing by James Jukwey)
