Washington, D.C. — Commodity Futures Trading Commission Chairman Rostin Behnam today announced the second voluntary carbon markets convening will be held on Wednesday, July 19 at 11:30 a.m. (EDT) at the CFTC's Washington, D.C. headquarters.

The purpose of the meeting is to discuss: recent private sector initiatives for high quality carbon credits; current trends and developments in the cash and derivatives markets for carbon credits; public sector initiatives related to carbon markets; and market participants’ perspectives on how the CFTC can promote integrity for high quality carbon credit derivatives.

“The voluntary carbon markets are at a critical point in their development and growth, and the CFTC has an important policy responsibility to promote product innovation, price discovery, and liquidity for high-quality carbon credits that are the underlying commodity for derivatives products listed on CFTC-registered exchanges,” said Chairman Behnam.

As the voluntary carbon markets continue to evolve, the goal of the convening is to build upon both the information discussed at the CFTC’s first convening on voluntary carbon markets in June 2022  and the information learned from public comments as submitted in response to the Commission’s June 2022 Request for Information on Climate-Related Financial Risk. The discussion may inform the Climate Risk Unit’s recommendations for any new or amended guidance, interpretations, or policy statements related to the voluntary carbon markets, which is within the CFTC’s authority under the Commodity Exchange Act.

A formal agenda for this meeting is forthcoming.

Today’s announcement follows the recent issuance of an alert by the CFTC’s Whistleblower Office in the Division of Enforcement that notified the public on how to identify and report potential Commodity Exchange Act violations connected to fraud or manipulation in the carbon markets. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8723-23]

Viewing/Listening Instructions:

Members of the public may attend the convening in person, listen by phone, or view a live stream at CFTC’s website. Persons requiring special accommodations to attend the convening because of a disability should notify Abigail Knauff at (202) 418–5123 or [email protected].

To access the live meeting feed, use the dial-in numbers below or stream at www.cftc.gov. A live feed can also be streamed through the CFTC’s YouTube channel. Call-in participants should be prepared to provide their first name, last name, and affiliation, if applicable. Materials presented at the meeting, if any, will be made available online.