Cartoon carbon market needs dose of professional reality - 24 Jan 2011 - James' Blog: a blog from BusinessGreen.

One trader memorably described the situation as a "Mickey Mouse market", but I always thought Mickey had a certain naïve charm. This is more Elmer Fudd market – well-meaning, but utterly incompetent.

The dual scandals that hit the market last week throw up numerous technical challenges, but the biggest concern is that they undermine investor confidence and play into the developing narrative that cap-and-trade schemes do not work.

Obama [Vastly] Overestimated Climate Bill’s Support, Lugar Says - Bloomberg

President Barack Obama “vastly overestimated the support” for the climate-change legislation that failed last year and should now focus on the risks in U.S. dependence on foreign oil, Senator Richard Lugar said.

Energy sector wilts under solar stress | The Australian

Government regulations and subsidies therefore leverage an investment with a market value of $30m to one that can be profitable at a cost of $300m. The Solar Flagships scheme may not be the most extravagant piece of government expenditure, but the "mere" $1.5bn it is budgeted to squander in taxpayer resources serves to illustrate just how inured we have all become to misused government spending. Moreover, combined with other government distortions of the marketplace, the Solar Flagships scheme is destabilising the commerciality of the electricity supply industry.