The postponement of a crucial vote to decide whether to delay or ‘back-load’ European Union Allowances (EUAs) as part of plans to bolster the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) has caused prices to stumble to all-time lows, say analysts.

At market close on December 4, EUA futures for delivery in December 2012 settled at €5.72 ($7.39), although bounced back to €6.15 by close on December 5, according to Thomson Reuters Point Carbon (see figure 1 – link here or see below).

“Carbon has gone