Emissions trade €9.4bn last year

WORLD carbon credit deals are estimated to have totalled €9.4 billion last year, up sharply from €377 million in 2004.

Permits to produce a tonne of carbon dioxide were changing hands last week for just over €30, after rises linked to stronger oil prices.

Internationally, it was reported that a Brazilian firm sealed the world’s biggest carbon credit contract so far for a pro-environment project. The firm, which generates electricity from rubbish, sold 1 million tonnes of carbon credits for at least €15 per tonne to the German state development bank KFW, which will pass them on to their industrial clients.