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Carbon credit is an element, which is used to aid in regulation of the amount of carbon dioxide that is being released into the air. This is the part of a global plan which has been created in an effort to reduce the global warming and its effect. This global plan works by capping the amount of total emissions that can be released by one organization. If there is a shortfall in the amount of gases that are used, there is a monetary value assigned to this shortfall and it may be traded and the trading of these carbon credits is known as Carbon Credits Trading. This research paper is focused on the Carbon Credits Trading Practices within Indian organizations. The main objective of this research paper is to explore the different carbon credits trading practices which are adopted by the Indian organizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Fire Ecology is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This study explores the implications of climate change for the bilateral relationship between India and Russia. While current research primarily focuses on the strategic aspects of their relationship, little attention has been given to the factors that could shape its future. Climate change has significant economic and social impacts on both countries, raising questions about how it will affect their relations. This paper examines the potential effects on livelihoods, agriculture, and trade, and investigates whether India and Russia can find areas of cooperation despite their differing roles as fossil fuel exporters and consumers.Despite their reliance on Western technology transfer, India and Russia have the opportunity to collaborate and develop new technologies together. The study highlights the potential for joint efforts in renewable energy, such as wind and solar power, to reduce dependence on fossil fuels. It also explores collaboration in biofuel production using Russia's biomass resources.Disaster risk management and information sharing emerge as additional areas of potential cooperation in the face of climate change. Collaboration in these areas can enhance preparedness and response mechanisms, strengthening overall resilience.The study also considers the Northern Sea Route (NSR) as a potential collaboration opportunity. As the Arctic ice melts, the NSR offers a viable trade route between Russia's European and Far Eastern regions. India has shown interest in contributing to its development, which could reduce shipping losses and emissions in transporting liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.In conclusion, the paper emphasizes the need for adaptation and adjustment in the bilateral relationship to address climate change challenges. It underscores the importance of scientific collaboration, exploring joint initiatives, and developing sustainable solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change while strengthening the longstanding India-Russia partnership.

As a key element in its climate change strategy, the UK government launched a greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in April 2002. The UK ETS is the first-ever national, industry-wide carbon trading scheme in the world and will eventually form part of the global carbon market which is expected to be established under the Kyoto Protocol. This paper assesses the effectiveness of the scheme both in facilitating emission reductions and also as driver towards moving from a fossil-fuel-based economy towards a low-carbon economy. By looking at early developments in the UK ETS and examining the emission profiles of FTSE 100 companies, the paper reveals some serious weaknesses and highlights that the environmental credibility of the market is hampered by low standards of emissions monitoring and reporting. The authors argue that a fundamental review of the UK scheme is required, to improve its environmental credibility and to bring it in line with the planned EU-wide scheme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2012 Doha meeting established the continuation of the Kyoto protocol, the legally-binding global agreement under which signatory countries had agreed to reduce their carbon emissions. Contrary to this assumed obligation, all G20 countries with the exception of France and the UK saw significant increases in their CO2 emissions over the last 25 years, surpassing 300% in the case of China. This paper attempts to forecast the evolution of carbon dioxide emissions in Bahrain over the 2012–2021 decade by employing seven Automated Forecasting Methods, including the exponential smoothing state space model (ETS), the Holt–Winters Model, the BATS/TBATS model, ARIMA, the structural time series model (STS), the naive model, and the neural network time series forecasting method (NNAR). Results indicate a reversal of the current decreasing trend of pollution in the country, with a point estimate of 2309 metric tons per capita at the end of 2020 and 2317 at the end of 2021, as compared to the 1934 level achieved in 2010. The country’s baseline level corresponding to year 1990 (as specified by the Doha amendment of the Kyoto protocol) is approximately 25.54 metric tons per capita, which implies a maximum level of 20.96 metric tons per capita for the year 2020 (corresponding to a decrease of 18% relative to the baseline level) in order for Bahrain to comply with the protocol. Our results therefore suggest that Bahrain cannot meet its assumed target. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(Series Information) European Papers - A Journal on Law and Integration, 2016 1(3), 1273-1278 | European Forum Highlight of 15 October 2016 | (Abstract) Directive 2003/87 EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 October 2003 establishing a scheme for greenhouse gas emission allowance trading within the Union continues to be an important source of case law. Two recent cases based on the provisions of the text provide us with further clarification on this scheme as well as on much broader issues of EU law.

In this paper, we develop a cooperative game framework for modeling the pollution control problem in a time-dependent setting. We examine the situation in which different countries, aiming at reducing pollution emissions, coordinate both emissions and investment strategies to optimize jointly their welfare. We state the equilibrium conditions underlying the model and provide a formulation in terms of an evolutionary variational inequality. Then, by means of infinite dimensional duality tools, we prove the existence of Lagrange multipliers that play a fundamental role to describe countries’ decision-making processes. Finally, we discuss the existence of solutions and provide a numerical example. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Forests have always played an important role in agreeing on accounting rules during the past two decades of international climate policy development. Starting from activity-based gross-net accounting of selected forestry activities to mandatory accounting against a baseline-rules have changed quite rapidly and with significant consequences for accounted credits and debits. Such changes have direct consequences on incentives for climate-investments in forestry. There have also been strong arguments not to include forests into the accounting system by considering large uncertainties, procedural challenges and a fear of unearned credits corrupting the overall accounting system, among others. This paper reflects the development of respective accounting approaches and reviews the progress made on core challenges and resulting incentives. Main text: The historic development of forest management accounting rules is analysed in the light of the Paris Agreement. Pros and cons of different approaches are discussed with specific focus on the challenge to maintain integrity of the accounting approach and on resulting incentives for additional human induced investments to increase growth for future substitution and increased C storage by forest management. The review is solely based on scientific publications and official IPCC and UNFCC documents. Some rather political statements of non-scientific stakeholders are considered to reflect criticism. Such sources are indicated accordingly. Remaining and emerging requirements for an accounting system for post 2030 are highlighted. Conclusions: The Paris Agreement is interpreted as a 'game changer' for the role of forests in climate change mitigation. Many countries rely on forests in their NDCs to achieve their self-set targets. In fact, the agreement 'to achieve a balance between anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks of greenhouse gases in the second half of this century' puts pressure on the entire land sector to contribute to overall GHG emission reductions. This also concerns forests as a resource for the bio-based economy and wood products, and for increasing carbon reservoirs. By discussing the existing elements of forest accounting rules and conditions for establishing an accounting system post 2030, it is concluded that core requirements like factoring out direct human-induced from indirect human-induced and natural impacts on managed lands, a facilitation of incentives for management changes and providing safeguards for the integrity of the accounting system are not sufficiently secured by currently discussed accounting rules. A responsibility to fulfil these basic requirements is transferred to Nationally Determined Contributions. Increased incentives for additional human induced investments are not stipulated by the accounting approach but rather by the political decision to make use of the substitution effect and potential net removals from LULUCF to contribute to self-set targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This review article provides a comprehensive multidisciplinary and in-depth analysis of how the idea of Global Carbon Markets (GCM) has evolved from the Kyoto Protocol to the Paris Agreement and the post-Paris Agreement period (2015-2022) and why no real consensus has been reached after 25 years of negotiations, based on the categorisation of different arguments from different authors. We apply a semi-systematic review to 32 scientific articles, special reports, and relevant websites to analyse the failure in reaching international consensus on GCM. We apply three dichotomies, market vs. non-market-based approaches, top-down vs. bottom-up and national vs. international level. There are two striking findings. First (out of the articles that can easily be placed along all three dichotomies), there is an overwhelming majority of articles combining market-based, top-down, and international level explanations. This is however countered by a second finding, namely, that there is also a clear historical trend which is unlikely to change away from top-down and towards bottom-up approaches since the Paris agreement, combined with a movement towards more non-market-based and national approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change has become the most challenging problem and task for every one living on the earth. The most unfortunate thing is that neither the developed countries nor the developing economies are serious on this task and as a result, on concrete solution has come so far. There has been more myth rather reality. As the time running very fast, it has become imperative for those economies which are major player in the issue of climate change must come forward with a concrete solution to this problem at all costs. Otherwise, the globe will have to face irrecoverable damages and every one will have to bear the unimaginable loss of humanity and materials. The present paper analyses the major issues taken at Copenhagen and Cancun. How far the decisions taken at Copenhagen have been implemented and what is to be decided at Cancun. The paper also suggests what should be done after the Cancun meet for meeting the rising challenges of climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With governments from around the world trying to hammer out a post-2012 climate change agreement, no one would disagree that a U.S. commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions is essential to such a global pact. However, despite U.S. president Obama’s announcement to push for a commitment to cut U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by 17% by 2020, in reality it is questionable whether U.S. Congress will agree to specific emissions cuts, although they are not ambitious at all from the perspectives of both the EU and developing countries, without the imposition of carbon tariffs on Chinese products to the U.S. market, even given China’s own announcement to voluntarily seek to reduce its carbon intensity by 40–45% over the same period. This dilemma is partly attributed to flaws in current international climate negotiations, which have been focused on commitments on the two targeted dates of 2020 and 2050. However, if the international climate change negotiations continue on their current course without extending the commitment period to 2030, which would really open the possibility for the U.S. and China to make the commitments that each wants from the other, the inclusion of border carbon adjustment measures seems essential to secure passage of any U.S. legislation capping its own greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the joint WTO-UNEP report indicates that border carbon adjustment measures might be allowed under the existing WTO rules, depending on their specific design features and the specific conditions for implementing them. Against this background, this paper argues that, on the U.S. side, there is a need to minimize the potential conflicts with WTO provisions in designing such border carbon adjustment measures. The U.S. also needs to explore, with its trading partners, ccooperative sectoral approaches to advancing low-carbon technologies and/or concerted mitigation efforts in a given sector at the international level. Moreover, to increase the prospects for a successful WTO defence of the Waxman-Markey type of border adjustment provision, there should be: 1) a period of good faith efforts to reach agreements among the countries concerned before imposing such trade measures; 2) consideration of alternatives to trade provisions that could reasonably be expected to fulfill the same function but are not inconsistent or less inconsistent with the relevant WTO provisions; and 3) trade provisions that should allow importers to submit equivalent emission reduction units that are recognized by international treaties to cover the carbon contents of imported products. Meanwhile, being targeted by such border carbon adjustment measures, China needs to, at the right time, indicate a serious commitment to address climate change issues to challenge the legitimacy of the U.S. imposing carbon tariffs by signaling well ahead that it will take on binding absolute emission caps around the year 2030, and needs the three transitional periods of increasing climate obligations before taking on absolute emissions caps. This paper argues that there is a clear need within a climate regime to define comparable efforts towards climate mitigation and adaptation to discipline the use of unilateral trade measures at the international level. As exemplified by export tariffs that China applied on its own during 2006–08, the paper shows that defining the comparability of climate efforts can be to China’s advantage. Furthermore, given the fact that, in volume terms, energy-intensive manufacturing in China values 7 to 8 times that of India, and thus carbon tariffs have a greater impact on China than on India, the paper questions whether China should hold the same stance on this issue as India as it does now, although the two largest developing countries should continue to take a common position on other key issues in international climate change negotiations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In response to growing consensus among scientists and governments to act fast to avoid dangerous impacts of climate change, many industries have started to prepare for a carbon-constrained world. However, this response is far from being uniform. Often action is predicated on economic, technological, organizational and institutional drivers and barriers, which vary between countries and across industrial sectors. In order to understand the effectiveness of industry response, it is therefore important to analyse corporate response across different sectors in different countries. Focusing on the nine most energy-intensive and greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting industrial sectors, this paper compares corporate responses to climate change in Pakistan and the UK. By analysing the divergence of strategies adopted by industries across different sectors in two countries, the paper examines the key factors influencing corporate adoption and implementation of GHG reduction and energy-efficiency strategies in Pakistan and the UK. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The stock dynamics of harvested wood products (HWPs) are a relevant component of anthropogenic carbon cycles. Generally, HWP stock increases are treated as carbon removals from the atmosphere, while stock decreases are considered emissions. Among the different approaches suggested by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for accounting HWPs in national greenhouse gas inventories, the production approach has been established as the common approach under the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement. However, the 24th session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change decided that alternative approaches can also be used. The IPCC has published guidelines for estimating HWP carbon stocks and default parameters for the various approaches in the 2006 Guidelines, 2013 Guidance, and 2019 Refinement. Although there are significant differences among the default methods in the three IPCC guidelines, no studies have systematically quantified or compared the results from the different guidelines on a global scale. This study quantifies the HWP stock dynamics and corresponding carbon removals/emissions under each approach based on the default methods presented in each guideline for 235 individual countries/regions. Results: We identified relatively good consistency in carbon stocks/removals between the stock-change and the atmospheric flow approaches at a global level. Under both approaches, the methodological and parameter updates in the 2019 Refinement (e.g., considered HWPs, starting year for carbon stocks, and conversion factors) resulted in one-third reduction in carbon removals compared to the 2006 Guidelines. The production approach leads to a systematic underestimation of global carbon stocks and removals because it confines accounting to products derived from domestic harvests and uses the share of domestic feedstock for accounting. The 2013 Guidance and the 2019 Refinement reduce the estimated global carbon removals under the production approach by 15% and 45% (2018), respectively, compared to the 2006 Guidelines. Conclusions: Gradual refinements in the IPCC default methods have a considerably higher impact on global estimates of HWP carbon stocks and removals than the differences in accounting approaches. The methodological improvements in the 2019 Refinement halve the global HWP carbon removals estimated in the former version, the 2006 Guidelines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The future of the Carbon Market Approach under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is uncertain. However, further development of Carbon Markets is expected. This paper estimates the average carbon price of the carbon emission permits (COP-approved units) acquired by the Spanish government and also a more realistic figure for the average carbon cost of the aforesaid emission permits. This is very useful for evaluating and comparing different carbon prices and markets. In addition, the paper contributes to the existing literature by providing a deeper understanding of the flow of emission permits between the European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and the Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) under the Kyoto Protocol. The main conclusions are that the estimated carbon price and cost are both lower than other reported prices and costs. This may go some way towards explaining why the government preferred to use the Flexibility Mechanisms and acquire an especially large number of COP-approved units (mainly Assigned Amount Units (AAUs)) through bilateral transactions with other Annex B countries, instead of launching actual greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement projects in the country. Moreover, more transparency is needed in regard to bilateral transactions of AAUs between the Spanish government and other Annex B seller countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper commences by evaluating the conception that the law on climate change includes an extremely wide range of issues whose delimitation cannot be precisely determined. The first part of the paper examines the breadth and complexity of the subject of regulation of the international law on climate change and, at the same time, points to some methodological dilemmas. The analysis is based on the provisions of international treaties in the field of climate change (the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement). The meaning of key concepts is taken as criteria for determining the boundaries of international law on climate change. The author also discusses whether one could consider the right to (appropriate) climate in the context of a debate on the place of human rights in environmental law. The paper emphasizes the need to review the content of rights and obligations prescribed by other international treaties, which may be relevant for climate change in different ways. The second part of the paper provides an overview of the practice of regulating certain issues in the field of climate change in the domestic law of different countries. The last part of the paper provides the basic parameters of the regulatory framework of the Republic of Serbia (RS) in the field of climate change. In conclusion, it is noted that the unclear boundaries of the law on climate change can be attributed to a number of legal and non-legal factors. Of key importance among them are the systemic character and complexity of the observed problems. In the case of the Republic of Serbia, the author particularly emphasizes the attempt to regulate this area by adopting a lex specialis.

This paper presents a methodology of measuring greenhouse gas emissions (mainly CO) for the transportation sector and illustratively applies it in Korea. The transportation sector is one of the most critical sectors concerning environmental pollution and represents about 20 percent of the yearly total greenhouse gas emissions for the energy sector in Korea. In spite of the increasing importance of the transportation sector in the eco-environment, current methodologies to analyze greenhouse gas emissions use a Tier 1 method, which is the simplest type among the methodologies recommended by IPCC guidelines. For a new methodology, we consider characteristics of transportation modes and operational environments in Korea. The proposed methodology can analyze the amount of greenhouse gas emissions for each transport mode and integrate it through transportation environments. It also provides a decision-making tool for governments to make transportation polices. As a result, the Korean government can manage the transportation sector in an eco-friendly manner and improve the national eco-environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this paper is to assess the adaptation of Iran's energy policies to the Kyoto Protocol. In the past two decades, Iran has experienced a considerable increase in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; in 2013 it was the world's ninth largest emitter. Although adapting to this protocol in Iran's energy and climate policies seems vital and urgent, its recent status is not promising. This paper develops a model to critically assess Iran's energy policy performance during the last 15 years after the Protocol. In this regard, a composite index is defined as a proxy of adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol targets. The proposed index is based on several indicators such as energy intensity, energy consumption growth rate, energy consumption per capita, amount of CO2emissions, and share of the renewable energies in total primary energy supply. The indicators have been selected by expert judgment. The assessment of this composite index for 16 selected countries is discussed. The results indicate that Iran has the lowest adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol among the selected countries. Also, energy intensity and CO2 emission indicators are the most important factors in realizing the adaptation to the Kyoto Protocol targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Carbon sources and sinks have been widely scrutinized over the last ten years as a result of the Kyoto Protocol. In this paper we added a new concept (standardized reference depth, DSR) to the current calculation method in order to assess and compare the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage changes due to three major land use changes with a certain historical relationship (from primary rain forest to fallow land to natural secondary forest and finally to rubber plantations - Hevea brasiliensis) in a northern tropical ecosystem in southwest China. Over 30 years, the soil organic carbon storage did not decrease significantly with a land use change from primary rain forest to fallow land (approximately 10.3%). However, it did increase significantly (approximately 49.3%) due to conversions to natural secondary forest and rubber plantations (approximately 41.6%). In this region, the soil carbon sequestration at rubber plantations is similar to that of natural secondary forests. Compared with the modified method, the current method overestimated carbon storage on fallow land by 8.8% more than the actual storage (calculated reference depth of 13.9 cm, Dr - DSR = 13.9, without the reference depth standardization process), overestimated carbon storage at rubber plantations by 3.6% (calculated reference depth of 4.9 cm), and underestimated the natural secondary forest carbon storage by 6.4% (calculated reference depth of 9.7 cm). Thus, the modified process using the standardized reference depth for the current method is necessary for the evolution and comparison of soil carbon or other nutrient storage changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines the benefits and constraints of applying blockchain technology for the Paris Agreement carbon market mechanism and develops a list of technical requirements and soft factors as selection criteria to test the feasibility of two different blockchain platforms. The carbon market mechanism, as outlined in Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement, can accelerate climate action by enabling cooperation between national Parties. However, in the past, carbon markets were limited by several constraints. Our research investigates these constraints and translates them into selection criteria to design a blockchain platform to overcome these past limitations. The developed selection criteria and assumptions developed in this paper provide an orientation for blockchain assessments. Using the selection criteria, we examine the feasibility of two distinct blockchains, Ethereum and Hyperledger Fabric, for the specific use case of Article 6.2. These two blockchain systems represent contrary forms of design and governance; Ethereum constitutes a public and permissionless blockchain governance system, while Hyperledger Fabric represents a private and permissioned governance system. Our results show that both blockchain systems can address present carbon market constraints by enhancing market transparency, increasing process automation, and preventing double counting. The final selection and blockchain system implementation will first be possible, when the Article 6 negotiations are concluded, and governance preferences of national Parties are established. Our paper informs about the viability of different blockchain systems, offers insights into governance options, and provides a valuable framework for a concrete blockchain selection in the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to analyze the evolution of CO2 emissions in Romania by comparison to other European countries, the origin of the sources for CO2 emissions in Romania and the European Union, and also the level of greenhouse gases versus the commitments assumed by our country by signing the Kyoto Protocol [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Economic & Business Review is the property of Economic & Business Review and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Many firms generate large amounts of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases when they burn fossil fuels in their production processes. In addition, production of raw materials and other inputs the firms procure for their operations also generates greenhouse gases indirectly. These direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions occur in many sectors of our economies. In this paper, we first present sector-specific estimates for such greenhouse gas emissions. We then show that estimates for such sector-specific greenhouse gas emissions are often required for various types of corporate as well as public policy analyses in both domestic and international contexts. Measuring greenhouse gas emissions resulting from firms’ multi-stage production processes in a multi-sector context is relevant for policies related to the Kyoto protocol, an international agreement to limit global greenhouse gas emissions. For example, since the protocol allows firms to engage in trading and offsetting of their greenhouse gas emissions across national borders, provided that emissions are correctly measured, the firms can take advantage of such trading schemes by placing their energy-intensive production facilities globally and strategically. We present several case studies which illustrate the importance of this and other aspects of greenhouse gas emissions in firms’ environmental management. We also argue that our modeling and estimation methods based on input–output analyses are suitable for the types of research goals we have in this paper. Our methods are applied to data for Canada and Japan in a variety of environmental management circumstances. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In theory, the interaction between the worlds of environmental science and policy may seem straightforward. From a realm outside politics and power, scientists provide relevant knowledge about nature upon which informed policy decisions could be based. However, in reality this linear model tends to be replaced by a much more complex relationship where the distinction between facts and values, knowledge and interests is less clear cut. In this paper, I explore links between science, policy and power through an interview study conducted with Swedish carbon cycle scientists and government negotiators to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Drawing on a co-production model of science–policy interplay this paper addresses the implications of a mutually constitutive relationship between carbon cycle science and climate policy. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Since entry into force of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1994, negotiations on controlling future greenhouse gas emissions have turned into one of the largest development issues of our time. In February 2005, the Kyoto Protocol entered into force and 9 months later a historical first meeting of the Kyoto Protocol (COP/MOP 1) was held in Montreal side-by-side with the 11th Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 11). After several years of stalemate, the Montreal meeting has resulted somewhat unexpectedly in a constructive outcome that has opened the door for new momentum in climate talks. Along with several key technical decisions, an agreement was reached to hold separate talks to discuss the futures of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol. This paper discusses the main outcomes of the conference and explores possible ways forward. It concludes that success in the UNFCCC process is imperative to address climate change in both developing and developed countries, even if the most effective actions are taken outside the immediate context of the legal process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At the seventh Conference of Parties in Marrakech (COP 7) a consensus was reached on the rules, the modalities and the guidelines of the flexibility mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. In this paper we assess the outlook and potential of one of the flexibility mechanisms, viz. Joint Implementation between the European Union and Russia. We show that both parties have all the incentives to start working on Joint Implementation and we assess the biggest obstacle for implementing JI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

International negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change could take several different approaches to advance future mitigation commitments. Options range from trying to reach consensus on specific long-term atmospheric concentration targets (e.g. 550 ppmv) to simply ignoring this contentious issue and focusing instead on what can be done in the nearer term. This paper argues for a strategy that lies between these two extremes. Internationally agreed threshold levels for certain categories of impacts or of risks posed by climate change could be translated into acceptable levels of atmospheric concentrations. This could help to establish a range of upper limits for global emissions in the medium term that could set the ambition level for negotiations on expanded GHG mitigation commitments. The paper thus considers how physical and socio-economic indicators of climate change impacts might be used to guide the setting of such targets. In an effort to explore the feasibility and implications of low levels of stabilisation, it also quantifies an intermediate global emission target for 2020 that keeps open the option to stabilise at 450 ppmv CO2 If new efforts to reduce emissions are not forthcoming (e.g. the Kyoto Protocol or similar mitigation efforts fail), there is a significant chance that the option of 450 ppmv CO2 is out of reach as of 2020. Regardless of the preferred approach to shaping new international commitments on climate change, progress will require improved information on the avoided impacts climate change at different levels of mitigation and careful assessment of mitigation costs. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

The author points to the overall context of the discussion about the problems related to Climate change. The paper analyzes the provisions of the Paris Agreement, adopted on the 21st Conference of the Parties of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Paris, December, 2015). The overall context of the discussion is determined by the content and significance of the objectives and principles defined in the Paris Agreement in relation to the goals and principles of the contemporary policy and environmental law in general. Particular emphasis is given to the place and importance of the objectives related to human rights (the right to a healthy environment) and sustainable development. The central part of the paper examines the significance of the objectives and principles in the field of the climate change that are contained in the provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change with the Kyoto Protocol and other relevant international agreements relevant to climate change that were adopted prior to the Paris Agreement. Further on, the provisions of the Paris Agreement are analyzed, and in particular the parts relating to the objectives and principles. The last part of the paper gives an overview of the relevance of the solutions contained in the Paris Agreement for the Republic of Serbia. Paper provides an overview of the basic strategic and normative elements of national policy in the field of climate change, including the question of objectives and principles. In addition to that it considers the thesis that Paris agreement, aside from the elements of the continuity as the successor of the Kyoto protocol, contains a new element regarding goals and principles of international community's activities in the climate change field.

In terms of resources and development potential, the Danube river basin region, including nineteen countries, is one of the most important regions of the EU. The Danube Strategy is an important foothold, frame and instrument of development policy and regional cooperation. The second pillar of the Danube Strategy, with its three priority areas, is related to the environmental protection of the region, including the climate change. The main objective of this paper is to examine if any presumptions exist for defining common policies of the countries of the region in the area of climate changes. Accordingly, the paper presents basic elements relevant for understanding the situation in the field of climate change in the countries of the Danube region (emissions of green­house gases, emission tendencies, indicators of hazards due to climate change, the share of nuclear energy production, participation in international treaties, and the EU membership or the prospects of the EU membership), as well as an overview of EU objectives on climate change ('2020'). In conclusion, it is estimated that the possibility of defining a common climate change policy of the Danube region countries are limited, primarily due to the huge differences in the level of economic development and the related respective interests. However, the existing cooperation framework, defined by international treaties on and relevant to climate change, provide the basis for cooperation and joint action of the countries, especially in the part referent to climate change adaptation measures. The EU membership of the countries in the region, or the prospects for this organization membership of the countries of the region, as well as the leading position of the EU in the field of climate change policies, further support this conclusion.

The Kyoto Protocol implemented the first international top-down mechanisms and provided mitigation incentives for both Annex B and non-Annex B countries. An assessment of the Kyoto Protocol would contribute to the fundamental discussion on designing future mitigation mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, while the use of a top-down approach that includes an emission trading scheme appears important for achieving the 2 °C target. This paper summarizes the existing literature and quantifies the effects of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reduction impacts from the Kyoto Protocol using the Stochastic Impacts by Regression on Population, Affluence and Technology (STIRPAT) approach for Annex B countries and 'additionality' assessment of Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) projects for non-Annex B countries. We found that the Kyoto Protocol brought about 951 Mt CO 2 e of real emission reductions in all over the world, mainly from implementing non-energy-related GHG emission reduction projects in non-Annex B countries. For the Annex B countries, 76 Mt CO 2 e of mitigation occurred during the preparation stage of the first commitment period (2005–2007), but no further effects were observed during the first commitment period (2008–2012). The following important lessons were learned from the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: (1) insufficient emission caps did not provide any mitigation incentives; rather, they resulted in perverse effects amounting to 12 Mt CO 2 e, which increased emissions in certain Annex B countries with economies in transition; and (2) since 42% of energy-related projects in non-Annex B countries were assessed as non-additional projects, more attention needs to be paid to the design of international cooperation mechanisms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper considers the question of the position and role of developing countries in the contemporary law and policy of climate change. The basic thesis in this paper is that the position of developing countries is defined in relevant international legal documents, but that significant differences between individual categories of developing countries are not clearly emphasized. In this sense, the first part of the paper is focused on the problems of defining of the notion of developing countries. The second part gives an overview of the specific rights and obligations of developing countries within the framework of the existing system established by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. In particular, it highlights the content and dilemmas in the interpretation of the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The third part of the paper presents some common features of developing countries that are of relevance for climate change. It provides an overview of some features and elements of the policies of individual countries (members of non- Annex I, small island countries, least developed countries and developing countries which are the largest emitter of GHGs). [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179029: Srbija u savremenim međunarodnim odnosima: Strateški pravci razvoja i učvršćivanja položaja Srbije i međunarodnim integrativnim procesima - spoljnopolitički,međunarodni ekonomski, pravni i bezbednosni aspekti]

The background of the principle of historical Responsibilities (PHR) is that the allocation mechanism of carbon emission space contained in the Kyoto Protocol results in static, dynamic and other unfairness to developing countries. However, with the rapid increase of China’s carbon emissions in recent years, may China keep the relative advantages on historical accumulation emissions and per capita emission in the future? This paper adopts RICE-2010 to predict the future carbon emissions for major economies. We find that China may still keep a small advantage on per capita emissions, but will become the largest responsible country after the middle of this century and continue to rank first. This means that the PHR will lead China to the embarrassment of self-contradiction sooner or later. The PHR shall complete its “historical responsibility” of correcting the defects of the Kyoto Protocol. China shall shift from the PHR to a somewhat more constructive strategy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper critically examines the clean development mechanism (CDM) established under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol in terms of its effectiveness as a vehicle for technology transfer to developing countries, a specific commitment under the UNFCCC. Fundamentally, the paper poses the question of whether technology transfer as part of the CDM is a myth or a reality in the broader context of sustainable development. Technology transfer between countries of the North and South is explored in a historical context and the emergence of technology transfer obligations is traced in multilateral environmental agreements. The architecture of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol are examined in relation to technology transfer obligations. Empirical studies are reviewed to gain an understanding of how CDM operates in practice, with a closer examination of a small number of recent CDM projects. There is an update on the Technology Mechanism being established under the Copenhagen Accord. The paper concludes with a summary of the benefits of CDM to date and its current limitations in achieving the scaling-up of affordable environmentally sound technology transfer envisaged in the Bali Action Plan. The conclusion is that technology transfer must be a much more explicit objective of CDM with better targeting of projects in order to achieve locally sustainable equitable outcomes. Furthermore, the link between CDM and technology transfer needs to be much more explicitly made in order that, in the long run, such interventions will lead to viable low emission development pathways in developing countries.

Amidst debates between the North and the South, Emission Trading (ET), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation (JI) were adopted as flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. These mechanisms allow developed countries to meet their emission reduction targets by investing in clean projects in other countries of their choice. The implementation of these mechanisms have however been faced with many problems which cast doubts on their efficacy as viable options for combating climate change. One main criticism of these mechanisms is that they lead to a trade off between sustainability and emission reduction. This paper examines the efficiency of these mechanisms in combating climate change. It reviews the main criticisms of the flexibility mechanisms in an attempt to answer the question whether the flexibility idea should still be retained as part of the post 2012 commitments. While arguing in favor of flexibility, this paper offers ideas on how their effectiveness can be enhanced in the post 2012 commitment period.

This paper reviews the policy and legal framework for the implementation of CDM projects in Uganda and its implications for climate change mitigation. It gives a background to climate change in Uganda and notes that climate change in Uganda can largely be attributed to unsustainable utilisation of the natural resources which has led to over exploitation and total loss of some of the natural resources. The paper reviews the international legal regime for climate change and its significance for climate change mitigation in Uganda and observes that Uganda has implemented the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol in accordance with the principles of common but differentiated responsibilities and the precautionary principle. This has for instance culminated in the carrying out of a National Inventory of Sources and Sinks of Greenhouse gases. The role of CDM in climate change mitigation is explored by examining the key CDM projects that have been implemented in Uganda. The key finding of the paper is that Uganda does not have an independent policy or law which deals with CDM and recommends that such policy and legal inadequacies should urgently be addressed.

To limit increasing air pollution and fossil- energy production, several environmental and climate agreements have been established globally. In addition, trade agreements could also serve to achieve climate-mitigation goals, through a trade policy with environmental regulation. By removing tariffs and harmonizing standards on environmentally friendly products and eliminating distortionary subsidies on fossil-energy production, climate change can be mitigated. The objective of the research is to explore the effects of economic growth, international trade agreements and climate conventions on greenhouse gas emissions between 1990 and 2019, at the global level. As an econometric method, an air-pollution function is estimated by panel-regression models. The results confirm that global climate agreements have a significant, but only small, mitigating impact on global greenhouse-gas emissions. The results supported the inverted-U-shaped environmental Kuznets curve. In contrast, the environmental impacts of free-trade agreements had ambiguous results on emissions, as the members of the World Trade Organization contributed to the decrease in air pollution, while countries that signed the regional trade agreements were unable to limit emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

According to the Kyoto Protocol, Slovenia is required to reduce GHG emissions to an average of 8% below base year 1986 emissions in the period 2008-2012. Slovenia established different measures for reducing GHG emissions long before its ratification. It was first transition country who implemented CO2 tax in the 1997. Several changes in CO2 tax have not brought the desired results. CO2 emissions have actually increased. At the beginning of 2005, Slovenia joined other EU member states by implementing the emissions trading instrument, defined by new EU Directive. At the same time, Slovenia has adopted a new CO2 tax system, which is compatible with the new circumstances. The main purpose of this paper is to present the characteristics of Slovenian approach to national allocation plan for emissions trading and analyze the problems of the CO2 tax in Slovenia. Paper also describes the compliance cost of achieving the Kyoto target and expected movements on the Slovenian allowances market.