In a historic bipartisan voting, the US House of Representatives passed the climate change bill by a 219-212 vote on Friday.

The bill, included among President Barack Obama’s priority agenda, requires large US companies including utilities, oil refiners, manufacturers and others to reduce their carbon dioxide and greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by 2020 and 83% by 2050.

The climate change bill addresses not only environmental issues but issues on financial reform as well. According to a Reuters report, President Obama’s financial reform agenda has found its way on the newly passed climate bill legislation.

The Reuters report indicated that the climate bill contained provisions that expand federal regulatory powers to include banning “naked” credit default swaps (CDS) and mandating over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives to go through clearinghouses. Such provisions intend to create position limits on trading and swaps in the energy sector by bringing them under the oversight of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC).

“Naked” swaps are widely perceived to be the cause for the collapse of AIG. These are contracts purchased by speculators that do not actually hold the underlying bonds on a firm, essentially enabling them to risk that the firm will default on the debt. The bill’s omnibus regulatory reform version, which is expected to be released in the fall, includes the suspension of trading using naked CDS but not its outright prohibition.

The requirement for OTC derivatives to go through clearinghouses has also been proposed in order to prevent financial products from being marketed to “unsophisticated” investors. OTC derivatives are contracts that are traded without an intermediary and are largely unregulated as far as disclosure of information.

This lack of transparency has led rating agencies to give out top ratings for unsound financial products, a practice the industry has blamed for the financial crisis. The central clearinghouse requirement will ensure liquidity, guarantee payment, and ensure financial transparency.