Impact of COP18 Decisions on Use of Kyoto Mechanisms by Japan

A series of decisions made at COP18 in Doha, Qatar imposes considerable restrictions on the use of the Kyoto mechanisms by countries that do not submit greenhouse gas reduction targets for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol, including Japan.

This policy brief overviews the limits to Japan’s use of the Kyoto mechanisms due to the COP18 decisions with a quantitative estimation of the impacts of these decisions on the Kyoto units that Japan can acquire in the post-2012 era. Subsequently, policy implications of these impacts are briefly discussed.