The first protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in Kyoto in 1997 and entered into force in February 2005. It is a unique international law instrument which sets legally binding targets for the reduction of emissions of greenhouse gases which contribute to climate change. The targets are unprecedented in an environmental agreement and will involve substantial financial commitment in virtually all industrialized country parties to the protocol. The Kyoto Protocol is also the first international agreement to include economic instruments which are designed to involve private sector entities and assist parties to meet their targets. These economic instruments, known as the Kyoto or flexible mechanisms, are Joint Implementation (JI), the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and International Emissions Trading. The Kyoto Protocol defined these mechanisms but did not set out the details necessary for their operation. After protracted negotiations, detailed rules were finalized at the Seventh Session of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties held in Marrakech in 2001. The Marrakech Accords run to almost 250 pages but still leave many important practical issues unaddressed. As the 2008-2012 commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol draws close more and more projects under CDM and JI are being developed to take advantage of the Kyoto mechanisms and the key issues and problems are now becoming more apparent. Drawing on the emerging body of expertise in this complex area, this book conveys a knowledge of what is becoming known as 'Carbon Finance'. It thereby aims to contribute to the development of the market for carbon emission reductions - one of the objectives of the Kyoto mechanisms.

This book is based on the assumption that great powers determine global politics and, in this instance, environmental politics. It addresses the approaches of both established and rising powers and their implications for the advancement of international climate negotiations. The new introduction looks at the key developments in this realm since 2013, examining the bilateral deals between China and the United States and the results of the UNFCCC's 21st Convention of the Parties (COP) convening at Paris in 2015. Two key features link the contributions of this volume: their underlying assumption that major powers are the central actors in determining global environmental politics; and their assessment of, and implications of, the approaches both of rising and established major powers for global climate norms. One key argument of this volume is that today's geopolitics are about who gets how much in the fiercely competitive race over the available 'carbon space'. The book concludes that prudently balancing power in the new century requires a fair sharing of burden among the existing and emerging powers. In light of such burden-sharing, pluralistic domestic politics as well as diverging normative beliefs and worldviews require consideration of different conditions, even if historical legacies of the industrialised world have increasingly been put into question as a political argument by the United States. This book is based on a special issue of the journal Climate Policy.

Die Versauerung von Boeden ist eines der zentralen Themen einer an Nachhaltigkeit orientierten Umwelt- und Wirtschaftspolitik. Wirksame Umweltentlastungen koennen hier nur durch Massnahmen in so unterschiedlichen Bereichen wie Energiewirtschaft, Verkehr und Landwirtschaft erzielt werden. Das Buch bietet neben einer detaillierten Analyse von Emissionsverlauf und -struktur der wichtigsten Schadstoffe zunachst einen umfangreichen UEberblick zu den notwendigen Emissionsminderungen. Anschliessend werden die bisher in Deutschland sowie auf internationaler Ebene ergriffenen politischen Instrumente zur Emissionsminderung versauernd wirkender Substanzen im Detail analysiert, wobei Effekte bei der Emissionsminderung gleichberechtigt neben oekonomischen, sozialen und rechtlichen Aspekten stehen.

This book is based on the assumption that great powers determine global politics and, in this instance, environmental politics. It addresses the approaches of both established and rising powers and their implications for the advancement of international climate negotiations. The new introduction looks at the key developments in this realm since 2013, examining the bilateral deals between China and the United States and the results of the UNFCCC's 21st Convention of the Parties (COP) convening at Paris in 2015. Two key features link the contributions of this volume: their underlying assumption that major powers are the central actors in determining global environmental politics; and their assessment of, and implications of, the approaches both of rising and established major powers for global climate norms. One key argument of this volume is that today's geopolitics are about who gets how much in the fiercely competitive race over the available 'carbon space'. The book concludes that prudently balancing power in the new century requires a fair sharing of burden among the existing and emerging powers. In light of such burden-sharing, pluralistic domestic politics as well as diverging normative beliefs and worldviews require consideration of different conditions, even if historical legacies of the industrialised world have increasingly been put into question as a political argument by the United States. This book is based on a special issue of the journal Climate Policy.

Since 2005 the carbon market has grown to nearly $100 billion per annum. This new book examines all the main legal issues which are raised by this explosion of what is now called carbon finance. It covers not only the Kyoto Flexibility Mechanisms but also the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) that is in the process of reform and other national and voluntary schemes. The Parties to the 1992 UN Framework Convention are in the process of negotiating a successor regime to the 1997 Kyoto Protocol whose commitment period ends in 2012. As scientists predict that the threat of dangerous climate change requires much more radical mitigation actions, the negotiations aim for a more comprehensive and wide ranging agreement which includes new players - such as the US - as well as taking account of new sources (such as aircraft emissions) and new mechanisms such as Reducing Emissions through Deforestation and Degradation (REDD). This volume will cover the legal aspects of these
This volume builds on the success of the editors' previous volume published by OUP in 2005: Legal Aspects of Implementing the Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms: Making Kyoto Work, which remains the standard work of reference for legal practitioners and researchers on carbon finance and trading under the Kyoto Protocol.

Die Versauerung von Boeden ist eines der zentralen Themen einer an Nachhaltigkeit orientierten Umwelt- und Wirtschaftspolitik. Wirksame Umweltentlastungen koennen hier nur durch Massnahmen in so unterschiedlichen Bereichen wie Energiewirtschaft, Verkehr und Landwirtschaft erzielt werden. Das Buch bietet neben einer detaillierten Analyse von Emissionsverlauf und -struktur der wichtigsten Schadstoffe zunachst einen umfangreichen UEberblick zu den notwendigen Emissionsminderungen. Anschliessend werden die bisher in Deutschland sowie auf internationaler Ebene ergriffenen politischen Instrumente zur Emissionsminderung versauernd wirkender Substanzen im Detail analysiert, wobei Effekte bei der Emissionsminderung gleichberechtigt neben oekonomischen, sozialen und rechtlichen Aspekten stehen.

The global climate change problem has finally entered the world's consciousness. While efforts to find a solution have increased momentum, international attention has focused primarily on the industrial and energy sectors. The forest, and land-use sector, however, remains one of the most significant untapped opportunities for carbon mitigation. The expiration of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period in 2012 presents an opportunity for the international community to put this sector back on the agenda. In this timely, wide-ranging volume, an international team of experts explain the links between climate change and forests, highlighting the potential utility of this sector within emerging climate policy frameworks and carbon markets. After framing forestry activities within the larger context of climate-change policy, the contributors analyze the operation and efficacy of market-based mechanisms for forest conservation and climate change. Drawing on experiences from around the world, the authors present concrete recommendations for policymakers, project developers, and market participants. They discuss sequestration rights in Chile, carbon offset programs in Australia and New Zealand, and emerging policy incentives at all levels of the U.S. government. The book also explores the different voluntary schemes for carbon crediting, provides an overview of best practices in carbon accounting, and presents tools for use in future sequestration and offset programs. It concludes with consideration of various incentive options for slowing deforestation and protecting the world's remaining forests. Climate Change and Forests provides a realistic view of the role that the forest and land-use sector can play in a post-Kyoto regime. It will serve as a practical reference manual for anyone concerned about climate policy, including the negotiators working to define a robust and enduring international framework for addressing climate change.