Behnam: CFTC June 2 carbon markets convening will begin policy
Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam said today that the carbon markets convening he has scheduled for June 2 will be an opportunity for participants in the carbon markets to advise the agency on its role in regulating the markets.
Speaking at Politico’s Fast-Tracking a Sustainable Future conference, Behnam used the example of a farmer who plants a thousand acres of trees and gets a certificate issued for carbon sequestration. The question for the CFTC, Behnam said, is whether there is any fraud or manipulation in the issuance of that certificate.
He noted that the CFTC has limited authority in this area because it does not regulate the cash markets for the underlying commodity markets except for fraud and manipulation, but that there will be a need for “an official sector role” in the carbon markets.
At present, the carbon markets are self-regulated, and while he believes that most are operating in good faith there is also a possibility that others may not.
Behnam emphasized that he wants carbon off-sets to succeed. He said the CFTC is consulting with other federal agencies about the carbon market.
Behnam said that before the convening, the CFTC will put out a consultation document with a broad set of questions.
Further information about the convening is available on the CFTC website.