Given the rapid spread of ETSs in an increasing number of countries and the important role that they are likely to play for the success or failure of the environmental policy in the years to come, this book provides an interdisciplinary analysis of the EU ETS from both the legal and economic perspectives comparing it with the other main ETSs existing worldwide, in order to assess whether the EU ETS has truly represented a prototype for the other ETSs established around the world and to investigate the current perspectives for linking them in the future.Through the years, the EU ETS has progressively gained a paramount position within the EU environmental policy and climate change legislation and currently represents the most striking flagship in this sector, with more than 11.000 installations covered by the scheme. In parallel, the EU ETS has paved the way for the establishment of many other ETSs in several other jurisdictions. Such schemes are now recognized worldwide as the "cornerstones" of the climate change policy.

I had the pleasure of participating at the two conferences which form the basis of this book: as a chairman at the 2007 The Hague Conference 'Tackling Climate Change - An appraisal of the Kyoto Protocol and options for the future' and as a speaker at the 2006 Siena Conference' The Kyoto Protocol and beyond: a legal perspective'. I would like to thank my colleagues Wybe Douma, Leonardo Massai and Massimiliano Montini for those opportunities, and although I was, unfortu nately, unable to contribute a paper to this book due to time constraints, I am glad to be able to say a few words on the issue by means of this foreword. The timing of the two conferences was well chosen: the period between the Siena Conference (June 2006) and The Hague Conference (March 2007) encapsu lated perfectly the period of the drafting, the presentation and the approval of the 'Integrated Energy and Climate Change Package', as presented by the European th Commission on the 10 of January 2007 and as approved by the Spring European th th Council of the 8 and 9 of March 2007. The importance of the Commission's package and the Council's conclusions must be strongly emphasized. They set, at the EU level, legally binding targets regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas of energy, and biofuels.

Developing CDM Projects in the Western Balkans: Legal and Technical Issues Compared, arises from the professional practical experience gained by an interdisciplinary team of legal and technical experts acting in the framework of the environmental bilateral cooperation performed by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in the Western Balkan countries, through the "Task Force for Central and Eastern Europe". The added value of the book consists in the fact that it jointly presents the real professional experience gained by a multi sectoral team of lawyers, economists, engineers and other technical experts, working in synergy with a shared vision. This volume will be useful not only to those specifically interested in the Western Balkan area, but represents a broader example of lessons learned in the development of CDM projects. Therefore, it may have a broad market among Government officials and legal-economic-technical professionals dealing with climate change issues as well as academics developing scientific research in this field.

Developing CDM Projects in the Western Balkans: Legal and Technical Issues Compared, arises from the professional practical experience gained by an interdisciplinary team of legal and technical experts acting in the framework of the environmental bilateral cooperation performed by the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea in the Western Balkan countries, through the "Task Force for Central and Eastern Europe."

The added value of the book consists in the fact that it jointly presents the real professional experience gained by a multi sectoral team of lawyers, economists, engineers and other technical experts, working in synergy with a shared vision.

This volume will be useful not only to those specifically interested in the Western Balkan area, but represents a broader example of lessons learned in the development of CDM projects. Therefore, it may have a broad market among Government officials and legal-economic-technical professionals dealing with climate change issues as well as academics developing scientific research in this field.

I had the pleasure of participating at the two conferences which form the basis of this book: as a chairman at the 2007 The Hague Conference 'Tackling Climate Change - An appraisal of the Kyoto Protocol and options for the future' and as a speaker at the 2006 Siena Conference' The Kyoto Protocol and beyond: a legal perspective'. I would like to thank my colleagues Wybe Douma, Leonardo Massai and Massimiliano Montini for those opportunities, and although I was, unfortu nately, unable to contribute a paper to this book due to time constraints, I am glad to be able to say a few words on the issue by means of this foreword. The timing of the two conferences was well chosen: the period between the Siena Conference (June 2006) and The Hague Conference (March 2007) encapsu lated perfectly the period of the drafting, the presentation and the approval of the 'Integrated Energy and Climate Change Package', as presented by the European th Commission on the 10 of January 2007 and as approved by the Spring European th th Council of the 8 and 9 of March 2007. The importance of the Commission's package and the Council's conclusions must be strongly emphasized. They set, at the EU level, legally binding targets regarding the reduction of greenhouse gas of energy, and biofuels.