CME Group this week delisted its California Carbon Allowance (CCA) futures and options contracts, effectively ceding victory to rival ICE on that front after traders showed little interest in the offerings.

In an advisory note, the US-headquartered exchange operator said it had on Nov. 9 pulled the two contracts, both of which had no open interest at the time.

CME acquired the contracts as part of its 2012 takeover of GreenX Holdings LLC, an environmental exchange that it helped launch as part of a consortium of financial institutions that also included Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan, Vitol and brokers ICAP.

GreenX launched trade in California’s carbon units in 2011, the same time as ICE, whose CCA contracts have since become the benchmark and most liquid.

CME continues to offer trade in around 10 carbon futures or options contracts, focussed on the EU ETS, CDM and RGGI markets, but data published Tuesday showed that only its EUA and CER futures, segments that ICE also currently controls, have any open interest.

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