Eric Crampton: With friends like these, does the Emissions Trading Scheme need enemies?

There is no chance it is deliberate. Deliberateness would require more coordination than government is able to manage these days.

But if the government wanted to undermine the Emissions Trading Scheme, would policy over the past year have looked much different?

The government has made too many decisions that weaken the Scheme, that encourage emitters to ignore the price signals it sends, or that throw the market into chaos.