Over the past four decades emissions trading schemes have enjoyed a high profile in environmental law scholarship and environmental law and policy. Much of this regulatory discussion has promoted the use of emissions trading on the basis of its alleged straightforwardness in terms of construction and operation and wide applicability across different jurisdictions and environmental settings. This book challenges the common understanding of emissions trading by offering a more nuanced prism through which to view this regulatory choice. As such, it shows how different regulatory goals are entrusted to emissions trading, each having as its corollary particular governance structures, which, moreover are culture-specific. As part of this analysis, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme is investigated in detail, providing an important reminder of the importance of legal context in shaping and managing environmental regimes. This book thus provides a revised framework for understanding emissions trading regimes and highlights the need to critically and carefully assess these in law.