Cap and Defraud

It is perhaps fitting that dubious global warming theory should trail in its wake an entire fraudulent industry, Europe’s cap and trade system. The Telegraph reports on the latest embarrassment to confront the revelers in Copenhagen:

Carbon trading fraudsters may have accounted for up to 90pc of all market activity in some European countries, with criminals pocketing an estimated €5bn (£4.5bn) mainly in Britain, France, Spain, Denmark and Holland, according to Europol, the European law enforcement agency.
The revelation caused embarrassment for European Union negotiators at the Copenhagen climate change summit yesterday, where they have been pushing for an expansion of their system across the globe to penalise heavy emitters of carbon dioxide.
Rob Wainwright, the director of serious crime squad, said large-scale organised criminal activity had “endangered the credibility” of the current carbon trading system.

One would think. Of course, if you’re a Democrat pushing to adopt cap-and-trade here in the U.S., the opportunities for fraud and political patronage are precisely what make the scheme so attractive.

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