European energy groups involved in carbon trading are manipulating

Power tool

European energy groups involved in carbon trading are manipulating the scheme for profit, not principle, writes David Gow

http://business.guardian.co.uk/economicdispatch/story/0,,1777038,00.html

The EU's emissions trading scheme (ETS), the cornerstone of its campaign to assume global leadership in combating climate change by reducing greenhouse gases, is in tatters.

This week, the European commission confirmed that companies operating more than 9000 industrial plants had emitted 66m tonnes less carbon dioxide (CO2) than allowed in 2005. The news prompted charges that the commission had been hoodwinked by energy groups into granting grossly over-generous pollution permits.

To add insult to injury, the scheme is proving a recipe for windfall profits. Faced with evidence that Germany, Europe's biggest polluter, had undershot its target by 21m tonnes, the Berlin government accused the four biggest power producers - Eon, RWE, Vattenfall and EnBW - of profiteering from the ETS at the expense of consumers. The environment minister, Sigmar Gabriel, said these four and others had thereby stoked up their earnings by between €6bn (£4.1bn) and €8bn.

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the numbers are just made up BS.

every country is going ensure
it gets enough credits for its businesses.

otherwise, no one will cooperate.

what natioanal gov't, wants money going out of their country?