Climate Decade in Review Post 5: CCX Starts Trading

October 2003 - The Chicago Climate Exchange begins trading carbon allowances. The Chicago Climate Exchange was the first North American market to trade in greenhouse gases--predating the European trading scheme.

The 13 Charter Members of the CCX are:

• American Electric Power
• Baxter International Inc.
• City of Chicago
• DuPont
• Ford Motor Co.
• International Paper
• Manitoba Hydro Corp.
• MeadWestvaco Corp.
• Motorola Inc.
• STMicroelectronics
• Stora Enso North America
• Temple-Inland Inc.
• Waste Management Inc.
  

These organizations were first in the world to make legally binding commitments to reduce greenhouse gases, in the world’s first multinational, multi-sector market for reducing and trading greenhouse gases.

Until only recently, adding greenhouse gases to the atmosphere could be done at no cost. Within the last ten years numerous efforts to put a price on carbon and create markets for carbon have been commenced. The CCX was a ground-breaking organization in this burgeoning and critically important aspect to fighting global climate change.

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This is one in the series of "Climate Decade in Review" posts on this blog that began in January 2010. These posts present climate-change-related events that occurred during the 00's, the warmest decade in recorded history.