Intercontinental Exchange, Inc., a leading global provider of technology and data, announced that 2023 marked the third consecutive year where ICE carbon allowance volumes traded the equivalent to $1 trillion in notional value.

Trading activity in ICE’s global environmental markets is up over 30% year-over-year (y/y) with open interest up 20% y/y.

ICE’s EU Carbon Allowance (EUA) futures and options, the world’s most liquid carbon market and the global benchmark price for emissions, reached record participation throughout 2023 and during Q1 2024.

To complement this market, ICE has launched Mini EUA futures, in a lot size of 100 tons versus the 1000 ton lot size in the benchmark EUA futures. The smaller contract size is designed to support the shipping industry in managing emissions price risk and will sit alongside ICE’s existing contracts across Marine Fuels, Wet Freight, LNG and LPG Freight and Low Sulphur Gasoil futures.

“Built over the past two decades and counting, our global network of exchanges and data now sit at the heart of the world’s most important energy transition where the benchmark prices for energy and carbon are formed every day,” said Gordon Bennett, Managing Director, Utility Markets at ICE.

“As the biggest and most liquid carbon market in the world, the EU will continue to influence international carbon markets and, with the addition of CORSIA and Mini EUA futures, ICE is offering additional tools for customers to bring their carbon tons on risk and put a price on the cost of emissions,” continued Bennett.

During 2023, ICE’s CORSIA futures went live, providing a targeted tool for airline operators to manage their emissions exposure, and are currently the only way for the market to trade futures based on CORSIA Phase 1. Also in 2023, ICE expanded its range of cap-and-trade futures markets, with the launch of Washington carbon allowance futures, and in 2024 listed the first environmental futures market based on Alberta, Canada’s carbon program.

In 2024 year-to-date, over 1.6 million contracts have traded across North American environmental markets, up over 40% versus this period last year. While in 2023, a record 3.9 million contracts traded, along with record participation. The notional value of physically settled futures contracts in the North American portfolio was $10.8 billion in 2023, breaking the last record set in 2021.

ICE offers customers the most liquid markets to trade futures and options on California Carbon Allowances, California Carbon credits, RGGI Allowances (RGA), California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) Credits, and Renewable Energy Certificates.

ICE’s energy and environmental markets are the most liquid in the world. On April 18, 2024, open interest across ICE’s global energy portfolio hit a record 61 million contracts. Since launch, over 166 billion carbon allowances, approximately 460 million renewable energy certificates, 6 billion carbon credits, and the equivalent of 13 billion Renewable Identification Numbers (RINs) have traded on ICE.

Source: ICE