EU Ban Leaves Buyers Holding 144 Million Homeless Carbon Credits

Companies holding United Nations carbon offsets equivalent to 7 percent of the European Union’s annual emissions cap risk losing their investment unless they find a buyer for the credits the bloc banned earlier this year.

Power stations and factories in the EU’s emissions-trading system still hold 144 million of the UN offsets after surrendering 552 million in the five years through 2012, EU data compiled by Bloomberg show. The bloc banned the use of credits awarded to projects that destroy nitrous oxide and hydrofluorocarbon-23, two powerful greenhouse gases.