COMPANIES Eighteen months ago, the Chicago Climate Exchange was riding high as the planets seemed to be aligning for the only national carbon-trading venue in the US.
Barack Obama, an enthusiastic supporter of cap-and-trade, was closing in on the Democratic presidential nomination. John McCain, his Republican opponent, had introduced a series of cap-and-trade bills in the US Senate. The price of the carbon-emission permits traded on the exchange was at an historic peak of $7.40 a tonne.
