Emissions Trading: Hot Air or Wave of the Future?

Judging from the headlines, the European Union’s Emissions Trading System must be a roaring success, driving the replacement of coal and oil with other energy sources including renewables and natural gas, whether from LNG or pipeline. The European Parliament just voted to extend it to airlines effective January 2012, with 93% voting in favor. Both contenders for the US presidency, Senators John McCain and Barack Obama, support a trading system for that country, giving new life to a cap-and-trade bill that died in the Senate this month. Download here