Hacked EU carbon market reveals systemic weakness

摘要

The latest computer hacking scandal to rock the EU Emissions Trading System has highlighted the urgent need for better IT security protocols in the system's national emissions registries. The European Commission was forced to suspend activity in all national emissions registries January 19, owing to the theft of carbon allowances from the Czech and Austrian registries. By the time the story went global, some headlines suggested a complete shutdown of European carbon trading had occurred. While the latest security scandal does little to boost the reputation of Europe's flagship tool to limit industrial CO2 emissions, the true impact of the latest problems is rather less dramatic from the market's perspective, traders said.