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Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international community has sought to find a policy framework to address the threat of human-induced climate change. The most significant action to date has been the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in December 1997. Given Russia’s recent decision to ratify the protocol it is now...

This paper provides an overview of the three Kyoto mechanisms?joint implementation, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and international emissions trading. These mechanisms enable parties to the Kyoto Protocol with emissions limitation commitments for 2008 to 2012 (Annex B parties) to meet those commitments at lower cost. Projects under the CDM...

The Kyoto Protocol can best be understood as being an economic instrument that uses flexible targets and market mechanisms to limit greenhouse gas emissions at the least cost. Its market orientation was largely inspired by the United States, which nevertheless opposes it on economic grounds. Yet a meaningful global regime requires the participation...

Germany is the leader among countries belonging to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in reducing its emissions of the Kyoto basket of greenhouse gases (GHGs), having accomplished an emissions reduction of 18.9 percent from 1990 to 2000. This paper aims to explain the reasons for this success and to examine the...

The aim of this paper is to examine the repercussions in Japan wrought by the Kyoto Protocol, which it signed in 1997, and to point the way for the country’s response in the next and future rounds of protocol-related negotiations. This challenge is met by first reviewing Japan’s past negotiating positions at the international level and relevant...

This article describes the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) policy of India, provides estimates of potential for a few sectors, and voices India’s concern about the CDM. In particular it covers the problems of determining CDM baseline, transaction costs, and risks that have to be borne by the developing countries and determining a fair price for...

Despite good intentions to get a solid grasp of various technical issues and put in place policy instruments related to the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol, Indonesia’s government still faces tremendous challenges in terms of disseminating information on the progress of climate treaty negotiations and gaining as wide public support as possible...

During the last years, when the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol became dependent on its ratification by Russia, the protocol’s prospects appeared quite uncertain. To a great extent this uncertainty was reinforced by the contradictory declarations of Russian officials?promises of imminent ratification that alternated with critiques of the...

Convincing the United States to mitigate its greenhouse gas emissions is critical to spurring a stronger and more durable international response to climate change. This paper focuses on current US action on climate change and the potential for future US emissions targets in both domestic and international arenas. Five topics are covered: (1) the...

This paper describes the role of the European Community (EC) in negotiating the Kyoto Protocol and then focuses on the progress of the European Union (EU) towards meeting its Kyoto commitments. The EC ratified the Kyoto Protocol on May 31, 2002. It has pledged to meet the implied target of an 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions between...