EU carbon rescue plan may not help U.N. offset slump

EU carbon rescue plan may not help U.N. offset slump | Reuters

Any lifeline European Union regulators throw to the bloc's own troubled carbon market may do little to help the United Nations' ailing emissions offset scheme.  The EU emissions trading scheme and the U.N.-backed offset market have been in an interdependent relationship since 2005, particularly since most of the demand for offset credits comes from the 12,000 or so big polluters in the EU scheme.  Both markets are flooded with supply. The European Commission is expected later this month to propose to fix its oversupplied market by delaying the sale of up to 1.2 billion carbon permits for several years.Such a proposal could help buoy EU carbon prices from near record lows in the near term, but it may not be enough to help U.N.-offset prices from sinking, analysts said on Tuesday.