Exchanges are jockeying for position in the market for permits to trade greenhouse gasses, which someday may rival the $3 trillion oil trade, according to analysts.  Industry consolidation is expected over the next few years as a global market emerges with dominant exchanges most likely based in Europe, the U.S., and Asia.

Trade value under the Kyoto protocol’s carbon trading schemes reached $13.4 billion in 2007, more than doubling from 2006, but volumes of actual carbon dioxide cuts made by registered projects grew just 7 percent, according to the World Bank.  The primary market for Kyoto’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) grew to 551 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent last year from 537 million in 2006.  The slow growth was due mainly to bureaucratic and procedural delays, according to the World Bank.