Drawing on a series of forthcoming case studies developed under a joint project of the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA), this article conveys the dynamic bottom-up progress on emissions trading systems (ETS) around the world. The case studies will provide an easily accessible tool that facilitates the analysis of ETS based on examples from existing and developing policies. Each of the 18 case studies provides an overview of the history on climate action within the specified jurisdiction, highlights ongoing challenges and unique features, and describes key ETS elements. The jurisdictions of focus lie within both developed and developing parts of the world, and the set of case studies encompasses multinational-, national-, regional-, state/provincial-, and city-scale jurisdictions. This article summarizes the key design features and differentiating aspects of ETS development in each jurisdiction. While designs vary, each ETS described ultimately belongs to the same category of quantity-based market mechanism.
| Copyright: | © Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH | |
| Quelle: | Issue 4/2012 (Dezember 2012) | |
| Seiten: | 11 | |
| Preis inkl. MwSt.: | € 41,65 | |
| Autor: | Peter Sopher | |
| Artikel weiterleiten | In den Warenkorb legen | Artikel kommentieren |
Market-based Instruments for Greenhouse Gas Mitigation in Brazil: Experiences and Prospects
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2012)
Brazil has become an increasingly important participant in the discussion about climate change, combining an active role in climate diplomacy with credible domestic policy efforts. Market-based instruments have featured prominently in its domestic policy landscape, with carbon markets envisioned both at the federal and regional level. Aside from successful participation in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and some progress in the creation of voluntary offset markets, however, the pathway towards a domestic carbon market has so far been fraught by delays and ongoing uncertainty. Still, Brazil can build on proven institutional structures, quantified emissions limitation targets, and new rules on the collection of emissions data and sectoral mitigation plans to establish robust market-based instruments. A carbon market can help leverage its vast mitigation potential to abate greenhouse gas emissions at sufficient scale while limiting the cost of compliance for domestic entities. Given its unique emissions profile, however, Brazil should not focus on becoming a net seller of carbon credits or allowances to foreign entities, but should instead harness the opportunity to create an ambitious, welldesigned market and thereby become a leader on climate change mitigation in Latin America.
Building Capacity for Emissions Trading: The ICAP Training Courses for Emerging Economies and Developing Countries
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2012)
Several contributions to this issue of the Carbon & Climate Law Review have illustrated current efforts to introduce emissions trading systems in the developing world. Overall, this is a welcome trend, as it shows that carbon markets are successfully incentivizing more robust mitigation efforts in countries with the fastest growth in greenhouse gas emissions. Given that any meaningful action on climate change will necessitate allocation of scarce resources among many competing aims, the flexibility and efficiency gains offered by a marketbased approach may indeed be critical for any prospect of avoiding dangerous anthropogenic interference with the global climate system. It is thus readily apparent that ensuring the integrity of these emissions trading systems will become vitally important far beyond the national boundaries of the countries that introduce them.
Beyond Déjà Vu: Opportunities for Policyv Learning from Emissions Trading in Developed Countries
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2012)
Under pressure to abate greenhouse gas emissions without burdening their economies, several countries around the world have introduced emissions trading systems as a centerpiece of their climate change mitigation strategies. Drawing on the experiences with emissions trading made in Europe, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region, this article shows that considerable diversity can be observed across systems, providing valuable opportunities for comparison and policy learning. Individually, and in comparison, existing trading systems offer lessons that can be applied to the design and implementation of new systems – especially in emerging economies where carbon markets are currently under development, such as China – and to the improvement of already operating systems. Such lessons are identified in three different categories: the role of the political process and economic context; system design; and system implementation and operation.
Negotiations on the New Market Mechanism and the Framework for Various Approaches - What Future Role for the UNFCCC in Regulating the Carbon Market?
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2012)
This article reviews on-going negotiations under the UNFCCC on the New Market Mechanism (NMM) and Framework for Various Approaches (FVA), which covers both market-based and non-market-based approaches. It argues that limited progress has been achieved in the past five years under the UNFCCC concerning the future international legal framework for carbon trading. A number of important design elements remain outstanding in the negotiations concerning the NMM and its modalities and procedures. The general objective and scope of the FVA also remain undefined. The article concludes that to successfully complete these negotiations, UNFCCC Parties must find convergence on principled questions concerning multilateralism and the future role of the UNFCCC in developing and overseeing market mechanisms.
Between Twilight and Renaissance: Changing Prospects for the Carbon Market
© Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH (12/2012)
While several established carbon markets are experiencing a crisis of confidence, a remarkable transition towards carbon trading is currently underway in the developing world. Given the multiple benefits ascribed to market-based instruments for greenhouse gas abatement, the rise of carbon markets in important emerging economies should come as no surprise: no other policy option promises certainty of environmental outcome while lowering the cost of its achievement, and developing countries with rapidly growing economies are no less sensitive to the impacts of carbon constraints than their developed counterparts. But it would be premature to assume a carbon market renaissance: as the experience in industrialized countries has shown, quantity rationing with tradable emission units places considerable demands on the implementing jurisdiction, requiring technical capacity and political will in order to succeed. Although the rise of carbon trading in developing countries affirms the continued relevance of this policy instrument, it also highlights the importance of policy learning and clarity about objectives if earlier missteps are to be avoided. Providing the introductory background for a special issue of the Carbon & Climate Law Review (CCLR) on carbon markets in the developing world, this article canvasses recent developments and central trends in carbon trading, suggesting tentative priorities for developing countries engaged in the pursuit of domestic markets.
