The European Union temporarily shut down its carbon market after a security breach, reports Point Carbon.
The European Commission suspended most of its Emissions Trading Scheme following the disclosure of a theft of 475,000 E.U. carbon dioxide emissions allowances (EUAs) from the Czech Republic’s carbon registry. The EUAs, worth around 7 million euros, were transferred to an account in Poland, then Estonia, and then Lichtenstein, before disappearing.
It isn’t the first scandal to hit the carbon market.
“This theft and a hacking attack on the Austrian registry on January 10 follows a raft of scandals to hit the market in the past two years, including VAT fraud, a phishing scam, and the resale of used carbon credits,” states Reuters.
Kjersti Ulset, Manager European Carbon Market at Point Carbon, says the theft, while serious, represents only a small proportion of the market.
“Hacking attacks of this type have also occurred elsewhere within the EU in the recent past,” said Ulset in a statement. “Although such incidents are negligible in terms of actual market impact they will over time undermine the credibility of carbon trading as a policy measure to reduce emissions in Europe. Immediate actions to improve the security of EU registries are thus needed.”
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