Carbon Credits As EU Like It: Property, Immunity, TragiCO2medy?

While there have been many legal studies of the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme, few have considered the effectiveness of the EU ETS as a matter of private law design. The authors propose to do so by tracing the history of the scheme, studying the English decision of Armstrong DLW GmbH v Winnington Networks Ltd [2012] EWHC 10 (Ch), [2013] Ch 156, as well as analysing the new EU Registry Regulations promulgated since then. We conclude that the EU ETS is handicapped by conceptual failings and exposes participants to unnecessary uncertainty that national courts will find difficult to resolve.