US Catches Up with International Carbon Market

According to a new report release by New Energy Finance, the volume of carbon credits bought and sold in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI) in the United States matched the entire volume of credits traded on the international carbon market in the second quarter of this year. The number of carbon credits sold under the CDM in Europe, in the second quarter of this year, increased by 25% on the first quarter. However the volume of credited traded on the secondary market decreased by 15% during this period. Most of this decline was due to reductions in the volume of future contracts, possibly in reaction to the higher volume of European Emission Allowances now on the markets as a result of the economic downturn. In stark contrasts, the number of carbon credits traded in the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative in the Northeast region here in the States, increased by 319% over the first quarter of this year.