Traders may be motivated by profits, but the world benefits from a higher carbon price
Speculators discover EU ETS—and like what they see
Brushing aside debatable ethical considerations, traders have been pushing the world’s largest carbon market to record highs
The first documented instance of futures trading comes during the life of Thales of Miletus, who speculated not in olive oil, but olive oil press capacity. Thales, deciding that a surplus year for olives was due after several lean years, went about to all the local olive press owners striking contracts to use their facilities, well in advance of the harvest. When the bumper crop arrived, Thales controlled all the press capacity, and profited handsomely. Unsurprisingly, society has disagreed over the influence of speculators ever since. What if the market has begun to move high enough to make green hydrogen more viable in the future, such that it could displace grey hydrogen? Intuitio
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