In a recent post drawing a comparison between potential speculation in carbon credits and the meltdown of the subprime mortgage industry, “Cap and Trade Draws An Ace – Rebuilding The House of Cards” Doug Williams quoted Rachel Morris.
You’ve heard of credit default swaps and subprime mortgages. Are carbon default swaps and subprime offsets next? If the Waxman-Markey [that's the main Cap and Trade legislation - ed.] climate bill is signed into law, it will generate, almost as an afterthought, a new market for carbon derivatives. That market will be vast, complicated, and dauntingly difficult to monitor. And if Washington doesn’t get the rules right, it will be vulnerable to speculation and manipulation by the very same players who brought us the financial meltdown.
In a one-minute speech on the floor of the House, Democrat Peter DeFazio puts a populist spin on that idea and affirms the point of Doug’s article.
