The world is coming to terms with the idea that putting a price on carbon emissions is necessary to fight climate change. Now there is a growing consensus on how to make it happen: cap and trade. After years of political defeats and operational snafus, systems that let companies buy and sell the right to pollute are gaining traction as a way to reduce emissions without dragging down the economy. With less than two months before nations are expected to finish a binding global deal to rein in greenhouse gases, Japan, South Korea, dozens of U.S. states and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec are among governments coming out in favor of these carbon markets. "While emissions trading was for some time only a European thing, times have changed, and we have an increasing number of national and regional schemes," said Ingo Ramming, the London-based commodity solutions chief at Commerzbank AG. "We believe that this trend will continue, carbon pricing and emissions trading will play an increasingly important role."
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