ENVIRONMENTAL MARKETS FORUM

On September 16-17, Friends of the Potomac and the Environmental Finance Center co-hosted an Environmental Markets in the Potomac Basin Forum. Forty-one participants, primarily from the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay, convened for two days to talk about the ideas of nutrient trading, carbon trading and other market tools – as well as necessary political tools and regulation – needed to reward positive environmental behaviors economically and reduce the deposition of nutrients and other environmental pollutants in the Potomac basin.

Through breakout sessions, two areas of focus were established for immediate attention. The first area of attention includes policy, regulations, and market-based systems in the Potomac basin and larger Chesapeake Bay. The second area includes the development of guidance for a smaller, more localized area – the Cacapon and Lost Rivers Watershed in West Virginia. Steering committees for each are now being formed.