London-based ICF managing consultant Kim Keats said countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany would have been the most active traders with approved national allocation plans. Some reports indicate more than one million allowances were traded last month.

Trading also seems to be off to roaring start this month. A Bloomberg report quoted brokers Evolution Markets as saying European CO2 emissions allowance trading volumes rose to a record on Tuesday last week, when about 255,000 tonnes traded, worth about 2.2 million euros (US$3.9 million).

September and October trading to date has been in marked contrast to August, which saw very little trading volume.

Keats said it would be interesting to see how the market would adjust to the new market and the manner in which CO2 would become one of a number of standardized commodity instruments that companies and financial intermediaries would use to manage business risk.

“We can be very sure that trading will increase significantly over time,” Keats said.

The EU Emissions Trading Directive was introduced to limit the amount of CO2 emitted as part of the wider effort to meet the requirements of the Kyoto Agreement.