A $25 Billion Market Rises to Blunt Costs of Worsening Weather

Marty Malinow‘s mom never could get her head around what her son did for a living. To friends, she said he was “a stockbroker that does something with the weather.” Malinow couldn’t really object — he knew most people had no clue about financial contracts based on things like sunshine, rainfall and wind.

That’s beginning to change. Against a backdrop of rising climate volatility and social shifts, demand for weather derivatives is surging. Average trading volumes for listed products jumped more than 260% in 2023, according to the CME Group, with the number of outstanding contracts currently 48% higher than a year ...