Carbon Prices Sinking in Europe: Viability of 'Cap and Trade' in Doubt -- Nothing To Do With The Bakken -- Hopefully Ever

Cap and trade: dead? Unlikely

European Commission looking at ways to prop prices; save program

Link to WSJ article.

Data points and quotes:

• EU has a program rewarding companies the right to release CO2 for a price
• that price is tumbling
• with less deand for these allowances, a glut is developing; prices are tumbling
•  

The latest blow came Monday, when the EU released preliminary data showing its carbon emissions fell bya larger-than-expected amount last year. While decreasing amounts of pollution out of Europe are a boon for the environment, it raises questions about the viability of a market that was hailed as a forerunner for the rest of the world.

Hopes that other nations, such as the US, would adopt the EU model have been dashed, and international  climate talks have made slow progress on a global consensus.