Cases / Water use · United States · 2020
CME Group launches futures tied to a California water price index
Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.
Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
CME Group launched futures tied to a California water index in December 2020, and more than 100 groups asked for them to be suspended. The sources reviewed do not show who traded the contracts, and at stake for nature is whether water in California becomes a traded financial asset.
What?
CME Group launched futures contracts on a California water index in December 2020. CME Group
Where?
California, United States CME Group
When?
December 2020 CME Group
Who?
Gained
None on recordLost
None on recordHarmed
None on recordWhy?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Futures contracts on the NASDAQ Veles California Water Index, each covering 10 acre-feet of water. CME Group
5 of 6 questions answered from the record · open: who
What happened
The record, in order.
CME Group launched California water futures in December 2020, according to its product page.
The contracts are tied to a California water index, and each covers 10 acre-feet of water, according to the sources reviewed.
More than 100 groups asked for the contracts to be suspended.
In court and with insurers
Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.
Lawsuits and rulings
No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.
Insurers
No insurer decision on record.
What we don't know
Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- Insufficient Reported but not verified: the UN special rapporteur on the right to water, Pedro Arrojo-Agudo, said the contracts opened water to financial speculation.
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: trading volumes, the participants, and whether any water was delivered under the contracts.
- None on record Not stated in the sources reviewed: which groups asked for suspension.
Did the harm stop?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Who paid?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
Sources
Voices on record: ✓ Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts— Press and investigations— Communities and civil society— Researchers
Company or project
- NASDAQ Veles California Water Index (NQH2O) futures product overviewCME Group · 2020-12