Role of Derivatives in Carbon Markets

Derivatives play an essential role in carbon markets. Companies subject to carbon compliance programs use carbon derivatives to meet their obligations and manage risk in the most cost-effective way. Derivatives can also be used by a variety of businesses that have financial positions indirectly tied to carbon prices. Investors can use the price signals from carbon derivatives to assess climate transition risk in their portfolios and can then access liquidity pools to manage risk and allocate capital to benefit from energy transition opportunities.

Derivatives markets also play a major role in enhancing transparency by providing forward information on carbon, which contributes to long-term sustainability objectives and provides helpful signals to policy-makers on the regulation of carbon prices.

This paper describes the role of derivatives in carbon markets and reviews exchange-traded and over-the-counter carbon derivatives. It also provides some insights on compliance and voluntary carbon markets and explains how firms use these markets and carbon derivatives to meet their compliance obligations, achieve corporate social responsibility goals and manage risks. In addition, the paper summarizes global climate change mitigation efforts and international carbon markets.

Click on the attached PDF to read the full paper.

Documents (1) for Role of Derivatives in Carbon Markets

10 Years of the ISDA SIMM

As the derivatives industry prepared for the September 2016 implementation of initial margin requirements for non-cleared derivatives, one challenge stood out: counterparties needed to agree on the amount of initial margin to be exchanged. But if each firm developed its...

Expanding the Universe of Eligible VM

ISDA conducted a series of interviews with buy- and sell-side firms to understand the drivers of a growing use of non-cash assets as variation margin (VM) for non-cleared over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives and the barriers that remain to expanding the use...

ISDA Response on Hedge Accounting Guidance

On August 14, ISDA responded to an exposure draft from the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). ISDA broadly supports the FASB’s proposed targeted improvements to hedge accounting, including allowing interest rate hedging of held-to-maturity (HTM) debt securities, recognizing all Secured...