CME Group will launch CBL Core Global Emissions Offset futures in March.

The futures are designed to align with the Core Carbon Principles (CCP) which are standards around the supply of carbon credits to be overseen by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Markets. The new contract will allow the physical delivery of energy, renewables and other technology-based voluntary carbon offset credits that meet quality and integrity criteria based on the CCP.

The new futures come after the launch of the CME CBL GEO and N-GEO™ futures last year. CME says that in 2021 over 57 million tons of CO2 equivalent were traded between the two contracts, with over 6.5 million offsets delivered through seven cycles. The pool of offset credits that underpin the CBL GEO, N-GEO and C-GEO contracts comprise 230 million offsets.

“CBL C-GEO futures are the latest in our suite of risk management tools to help bring standardized benchmarks to the rapidly evolving voluntary carbon markets,” said Peter Keavey, Global Head of Energy and Environmental Products at CME Group. “As our clients closely follow the implications of Article 6 and other developments in this space, we are responding to demand for scalable market-based solutions that will allow them to execute their reduction strategies more effectively.”