Kyoto, We Have a Problem

As I have previously noted, every possible benchmark that can be applied to the European Union’s carbon cap-and-trade scheme is pointing downward. Still, supporters of imposing Kyoto-style cap-and-trade schemes in the U.S. insist, against all evidence, that after three years of operation “it is too early to call Europe’s ETS a failure.”

So what constitutes failure?

Maybe this. We now can add to the pile of evidence a remarkable report of how cap-and-trade is subject to rampant rent-seeking. According to the AP, well-heeled lobbying interests (much like those pushing for such a scheme here, come to think of it) have made tens of millions of dollars in pure windfall by working their pals in government and gaming the greenhouse gas regulatory regime.