Chris Prentice and Pete Schroeder

WASHINGTON (Reuters). -The U.S. President Joe Biden picked Wednesday to lead the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. He indicated that climate change and adoption of digital currencies are top priorities if he was confirmed for the position.

Rostin Bennam, a Democratic CFTC commissioner since 2017, and its acting chair, presented his vision for the agency to the Senate Agriculture Committee. It was a crucial first step towards revitalizing an agency which had been left in limbo for several months with no permanent leader.

Behnam praised the CFTC for its ongoing monitoring of derivatives. He noted that this sector of the financial market “performed very well” in the chaotic onset of COVID-19, which began in 2020. If given the job, he said that he would make sure the agency had an active enforcement program.

He stated in his opening testimony that “I will prioritise policy that encourages compliance reinforced with an enforcement program that eradicates fraud.”

Behnam said he supported any legislation Congress might consider giving the CFTC more authority over digital currencies. He argued that the fast-growing market would benefit from better oversight.

“Given this market’s scale, size, scope and extent, it makes sense to have a primary officer on the beat.” He said that he believes it was crucial to have a primary officer on the beat.

Climate issues have been a central part of Behnam’s work at the CFTC. Behnam established the climate risk unit to improve understanding of climate risks and their pricing in derivatives markets. He also supported a report by the CFTC’s industry advisors in 2020 that called climate change a serious risk for the financial system.

He stated Wednesday that monitoring the climate risk of financial markets is important. While climate change doesn’t pose any systemic risks to financial markets, he said that it may in the near future.

But he said derivatives could be a key part of any market-based policy to tackle the problem.

Behnam is being nominated at a moment when the CFTC has a shortage of staff.

In October, Democratic commissioner Daniel Berkovitz resigned, leaving only Behnam (Republican Commissioner) and Dawn Stump as active members of the agency. Biden also proposed Kristin Johnson, a law professor to be a Democratic member. However she has yet to be confirmed.