KYOTO CARBON CREDIT COCK-UP

Back in March, Paul Norton PhD had a dig at the Howard government for refusing to buy into Kyoto, posting this under the title "Australia Never Misses an Opportunity to Miss an Opportunity":

The mechanisms established under the Kyoto Protocol are turning out to be a tidy moneyspinner for those countries which have ratified it.

It will be interesting to see if Norton posts on the latest carbon trade developments:

Europe's attempts to reduce greenhouse gas output through an emissions trading scheme suffered a severe blow after it emerged that German industries last year were granted permits to produce more carbon dioxide than they needed.

Friday's news took carbon prices to a 15-month low.

The price has fallen from around €30 earlier in the year to less than €9 a tonne on Friday, with speculation the credits could eventually prove worthless. A lot of money will, however, be made, by lawyers:

The EU's carbon emissions trading scheme (ETS) hit renewed turbulence yesterday when CO2 prices fell to a fresh one-year low and it emerged that five UK energy groups are suing the European commission over cuts in their allowances. Brussels, meanwhile, is planning new legal action against Britain.