Markit launches carbon indices

By Sophia Grene
Published: May 17 2009 10:14

A new range of carbon indices should speed the development of financial markets for the environmental sector.
Index provider Markit has joined forces with BlueNext, the Paris-based environmental exchange, to launch a family of indices covering European and global carbon markets.

“It’s quite clear that politically it’s top of the agenda,” said Niall Cameron, who looks after commodities and indices at Markit. “There’s a lot of money in subsidies going into these products.”
Although he ultimately envisages a broad range of products, the initial offering consists of just two spot price indices, covering European Allowance Units and Certified emissions Reductions.
Once these are off the ground, Markit and Blue Next will consult with a governance panel drawn from the industry to work out what exactly will be most useful. “You have to take account of the types of index the clients want,” said Mr Cameron. Markit expects the indices to be used as a basis for products such as exchange traded funds.
Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2009