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From Benedicte Gravrand, Geneva: The Chicago Climate Exchange, the world’s first derivatives exchange focused on environmental financial products, will start offering today its new index, the Eco-Index futures contract. The eminent Dr. Richard Sandor spoke to Opalesque about this latest venture.

How things stand within the green trading environment World Bank figures show that trading in greenhouse-gas allowances tripled last year to $30.1 billion. Bloomberg.com reported last month that ECX trading of permits reached a record in May. About 7.8 million metric tons of allowances were traded on the exchange on May 30, 5.4 percent more than the previous record in April 2006. U.S. President George W. Bush on May 31 softened his opposition to setting goals for cutting pollution, calling for talks to ``establish a new framework'' for 2012, when the Kyoto accord expires. Permit prices jumped the day following Bush's speech, and after Australia recommended adopting emissions trading by 2012. Bush later stopped short of endorsing mandatory caps.

The EU will probably push ahead with further cuts in the allocation of emissions permits for utilities and factories after 2012, having pledged to cut emissions in half by 2050 at this month's Group of Eight summit in Germany.

Europe, Japan and Canada agreed to the 50 percent reduction on June 7, while the U.S. and Russia promised to take part in talks on a new i......................

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