Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil. CCX employs independent verification, includes all six greenhouse gases, and has been trading greenhouse gas emission allowances since 2003. CCX was launched prior to the commencement of trading in the European Union through the ETS system. To date, more than 120 CCX Members range from corporations like Ford and Motorola, to state and municipalities such as Oakland and Chicago, to educational institutions such as Tufts University and University of Minnesota, to farmers and the Iowa Farm Bureau.
CCX has an aggregate baseline of 226 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent, which is equal to the United Kingdom’s annual allocation under the EU ETS. This would make CCX one of the largest “countries” in the EU CO2 market, or 4% of U.S. annual GHG emissions.
Here is the CCX website.
The first Australian big member is AGL who have recently made a $2 billion investment in renewable energy, and are seeking to offset that investment.
Andhyodaya, an NGO based in Kerala, India, which promotes biogas production among poor farmers, has become the first Indian member of the United States-based climate exchange.
It is 10% owned by Goldman Sachs. Maurice Strong is on the board of directors of the Chicago Climate Exchange. He was a former Secretary General of the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit - the start of global warming awareness). And on March 1st this year they announced their highest trading month (.pdf):
Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX®) announced today that the total
trading volume in the month of February was 3,712,100 metric tons carbon dioxide, making it the highest trading month in the history of CCX.
Global Warning Climate Change
