Emission allowances as financial instruments

The scope of contribution is, first of all, to provide an overview of the recent developments that have gradually seen the inclusion, in the scope of MiFID and of the Market Abuse Regulation, of emission allowances. This is done in an attempt to understand whether this evolution may support the development of more efficient and robust emission allowances trading schemes and, ultimately, the reduction of CO2 emissions in the Planet. The key question, that needs to be answered, is whether subjecting emission allowances to the core provisions of EU capital markets legislation may effectively prove to be useful for the development of a Green Economy and for the protection of the environment.