Press Release: 5650-09
For Release: April 23, 2009

Commissioner Bart Chilton Says Obama “Right on Target”

Regulator Ready for Trading in Carbon Markets

Washington, DC - Just weeks before discussions will convene on the trading and regulation of carbon markets in the United States, Commissioner Bart Chilton, chair of the CFTC’s Energy and Environmental Markets Advisory Committee (EEMAC), praised President Obama’s comments today regarding the trading of carbon as a commodity.

“The President is right on target,” said Chilton, “and our agency is standing ready to oversee the trading of derivatives in these critically important markets, to ensure the safety and soundness of all such activity.” Chilton stressed the need to protect consumers, enable businesses to operate more efficiently, and benefit the environment. “The CFTC has a longstanding history of federal regulation of derivatives trading—from monitoring exchange activity to ensuring financial responsibility to carrying out disciplinary and enforcement actions—and we need to get this right. It is too important to our economy, to individuals, and to the world not to.”

Commissioner Chilton noted the agency’s successful oversight of emissions trading relating to sulfur dioxide, and the positive effects those related emissions programs have had on the environment. “You don’t even hear anyone talking about acid rain anymore,” he noted, “and it is my hope and expectation that we can achieve a similar success with other greenhouse gas emissions products.”

Chilton will chair a meeting of the EEMAC on May 13, 2009 in Washington, at which issues relating to carbon emissions trading are expected to be addressed.

Media Contacts
Robert Holifield
202-418-5080

R. David Gary
202-418-5085

Last Updated: April 23, 2009