This article was first published in New Scientist, 27 June 2013.

THE world’s biggest carbon market, the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, is now widely regarded as a basket case. The price of a permit to pump carbon into the atmosphere has collapsed. Europe’s parliament is to vote on an emergency rescue imminently – though few expect it to succeed. Yet new carbon trading schemes are being set up around the world, from Australia to Kazakhstan. Even China, the world’s biggest emitter, has just set up a pilot. If the EU market is such a shambles, how come?

Read the full article at New Scientist.