European carbon prices are running at record highs these days, and they have more room to rise, according to some analysts and traders. On the face of it, this is excellent news: the costlier that carbon emissions get, the more that businesses should be motivated to invest in cleaner sources of electricity generation. In practice, things are not as simple as this. Earlier this year, when carbon prices started rising fast, European industrial associations called on EU authorities to set a so-called border tax for the carbon emissions generated by competitors outside the 27-member bloc. “In the past, we did not have a significant problem with the carbon price because it was so low,” the FT quoted Axel Eggert, director-general of the European Steel Association, as saying last month. “Now, with the increasing price, we get into a real problem. One is our global competitors do not have those […]