New York Mercantile Exchange Inc.
NYC’s Environmental Finance Business Takes Another Step: The New York Mercantile Exchange Goes Green ... for St. Patrick’s Day?
Perhaps in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, the New York Mercantile Exchange will begin a market to trade future and option contracts for credits representing reductions in greenhouse gases and other pollutants. This is part of their Green Exchange initiative formed by a partnership between the Mercantile Exchange and energy brokerage Evolution Markets.
What is this market selling?
In Europe, the European Community (the “government” that issues the Euro) regulates carbon emissions. In the U.S. we haven’t gotten around to regulating greenhouse gasses yet. Let’s hope we do before much longer. How it works in Europe: Let’s say a European company emits 10 tons of carbon dioxide a year, but under the rules they are allowed to emit 25 tons. They can sell their right to emit the 15 tons they are not emitting to a company that that is exceeding its target. But how does a company that needs to buy extra emission allowances find a company that has some to sell? Who sets the price for these emission allowances? The answer is that the market sets the price. On Monday, March 17th, one such market began operating when the New York Mercantile Exchange started selling option contracts for emission credits. read more »
Mercantile Exchange Moves Toward Sale of Downtown Headquarters
The New York Mercantile Exchange is moving closer to a sale of its headquarters at One North End Avenue in the World Financial Center, as the exchange read more »
