Flexibility in Global Climate Policy
Beyond Joint Implementation

Since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, the negotiation of policy responses to climate change has become an area of major research. This authoritative volume sets out the main debates and processes of "joint implementation".

Since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, the negotiation of policy responses to climate change has become an area of major research. This authoritative volume sets out the main debates and processes of joint implementation - bilateral or multilateral investments in greenhouse gas emission reduction or sequestration - and explores the issues involved in constructing an appropriate institutional framework. It examines the key economic, environmental, social and ethical impacts, and assesses the operational design of the flexibility mechanisms of joint implementation, including emissions trading and the Clean Development Mechanism. An approach is developed in which streamlined assessment procedures are combined with institutional safeguards in order to balance the demand for practical mechanisms with the environmental objectives of the Protocol. The book provides detailed case studies of energy sector investment in Eastern European host countries.

Preface * Beyond Joint Implementation: an Overview and Summary of the Argument * The Language of Flexibility: Operational Forms of Joint Implementation * Objectives of Joint Implementation: Towards a Multicriteria Evaluation Framework * The Baseline Question: Dealing with the Problem of Counterfactuality * Case Study Projects * Environmental ad Social Aspects of Joint Implementation: Methodologies and Case Study Results * Uncertainty and Sensitivity Analysis: Methodology and Case Study Results * Measures for Managing Flexibility: Dealing with Complexity and Uncertainty * Evaluating Joint Implementation Options: an Illustrative Analysis * Appendix 1: Analysis of Crediting Regimes * Notes * References * Index