Flexibility in Climate Policy Making the Kyoto Mechanisms Work

About this book

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.

Contents

Part 1 Beyond Joint Implementation - An overview and summary of the argument: Introduction; Summary of the argument; Chapter-by-chapter synopsis; Conclusions. Part 2 The Language of Flexibility - Operational forms of joint implementation: Introduction; Institutional background; Classification of flexibility mechanisms; Schematic representation of joint implementation characteristics; Flexibility mechanisms in the Kyoto Protocol; Conclusions. Part 3 Objectives of Joint Implementation - Towards a multicriteria evaluation framework: Introduction; Environmental effectiveness; Equity; Economic efficiency; Conclusions. Part 4 The Baseline Question - Dealing with the problem of counterfactuality: Introduction; The system boundary; Critical elements in the construction of baselines; A review of approaches to baseline construction; Conclusions. Part 5 Case Study Projects: Introduction; Project selection; Host country contexts; Donor country contexts; Data collection; Project descriptions; Conclusions. Part 6 Environmental and Social Aspects of Joint Implementation - Methodologies and case study results: Introduction; The environmental context of joint implementation; Methods of environmental and social impact assessment; A retrospective environmental impact assessment for case study projects; Environmental and social impact assessment: routine methods for joint; implementation actions; Conclusions. Part 7 Accounting for Emissions Reductions and Costs - Methodology and case study results: Introduction; Methodology; Assumptions for project-level assessment; Case study results: emissions and costs; Case study results: baseline construction; Case study results: evaluation of critical variables; Comparison with the Framework Convention on Climate Change reported data; Conclusions. (Part contents).

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Biography

Tim Jackson is Professor of Sustainable Development at the School of Engineering in the Environment, University of Surrey. Katie Begg and Stuart Parkinson are Research Fellows at the Centre for Environmental Strategy, University of Surrey.