Features, March 2000 WEATHER REPORT: HEDGING GONE WITH THE WIND No matter how good an idea it may be to hedge weather exposures, it's not proving easy for weather dealers to sell products to end-users. Mark Nicholls talks to the clients to find out what issues they face as they struggle to hedge their exposures. More... DERIVATIVES EXCHANGES EXCHANGES LOOK TO THE ENVIRONMENT Be it weather derivatives, pollution permits or catastrophe insurance products, established derivatives exchanges around the world are embracing environmental contracts. Emily Saunderson asks whether these can succeed, or whether they are simply desperate attempts to generate trading volumes in an increasingly competitive world. More... WEATHER REPORT: DERIVATIVES A EUROPEAN WEATHER FORECAST The slower pace of deregulation in Europe's energy markets compared to the US means that a weather derivatives market will take a different course in Europe. Vincent Gesser examines how banks and insurers will have to adapt their traditional approaches to risk. HOW I SEE IT DAIMLER CHRYSLER, FORD CHANGE LANES The departure of these two motor companies from the embattled Global Climate Coalition (GCC), could presage their executing carbon trades, says Richard Sandor, in a similar fashion to Shell and BP's exit from the GCC. WEATHER REPORT: PRICING SEEKING A STANDARD PRICING MODEL Mark Garman, Carlos Blanco and Rovert Erikson of Financial Engineering Associates review the most common weather derivative structures, the difficulties in pricing them, and suggest two methods to overcome some of these pricing problems. MARKET VIEW CALIFORNIA'S NOx MARKET FEELS THE PINCH Anne Sholtz and Verne Wochnick of the Automated Credit Exchange review the development of California's RECLAIM programme and explain the recent hike in emission credit prices. EMISSIONS TRADING ASIA CAUTIOUS ON CARBON TRADES The potential for carbon trading in Asia is enormous - with China and India looking at capturing 75#37; of trades between the developing and industrialised worlds, some analysts believe. But at present, Asia is lagging behind Latin America and Eastern Europe in terms of carbon projects. Mark Nicholls discovers political uncertainty and high levels of risk deterring investors. FUND MANAGEMENT LOOKING TO THE FUTURE OF SRI Since its origins in the 1960s and 1970s, socially responsible investing has come a long way. SustainAbility's Seb Beloe reviews the market's development, and looks at where the industry is heading from here. FOR THE FULL STORY EVERY MONTH, SUBSCRIBE TO ENVIRONMENTAL FINANCE, OR CONTACT info@environmental-finance.com FOR OUR BACK ISSUES SERVICE