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Last year the world spewed out 32 gigatonnes of carbon dioxide emissions
Now imagine if this pollution had a price.

Enter the idea of carbon trading, a concept created by American economists.
It’s known as cap and trade.

If a company emits less than its limit, it can sell its permits to other companies: that’s the trade.
Over time, the total number of permits is reduced…. and in theory it becomes more expensive to pollute.
In 2005 the European Union introduced the world’s first carbon trading scheme with mixed results. Partly because there were too many permits given out... and the value of each one dropped … making it very cheap to pollute.

Worldwide there are around 30 countries and 20 cities or regions that have chosen this path. representing 8 per cent of emissions.

Now China, the biggest polluter on the planet has announced plans for its own national cap and trade scheme. It will be, by far, the world’s largest.

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