Manufacturers, utilities and airlines in the European Union's emissions-trading system may be able to swap carbon offsets to meet EU compliance from May 1, if a draft of the carbon registry regulation is approved. In the draft, emitters may exchange international carbon offsets into compliant EU allowances that can then be applied to other projects. "In return for an offset a company will receive an EU allowance that they do not have to immediately submit for compliance," said Konrad Hanschmidt, an energy analyst with Bloomberg New Energy Finance.