Land use and forestry based CDM in scientific peer-reviewed literature pre-and post-COP 9 in Milan

This article explores the science-policy interactions between peer-reviewed literature and decisions and declarations on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) projects in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) taken at Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings. The results are based on a literature analysis capturing 88 articles published from 1997 to 2005. By using a matrix search method and a structured reading form, the method and analysis focussed on whether issues of CDM and LULUCF were presented as ‘supportive of the inclusion of LULUCF’ and ‘critical of the inclusion of LULUCF’. A matrix search method and a structured reading form were applied. Of the 88 articles, 66% included discussions supportive to the inclusion of LULUCF. Forty-nine percent had a first author affiliated in natural sciences. Only 19% had first authors affiliated in developing countries while the same number for contributing authors was 38%. The results show no clear connection between scientific literature and decisions and declarations, but indicate that policymakers set the research agenda by declarations, while researchers feed the process up until decisions are made.

Kyoto Mechanisms: Key Issues for Policy-makers for COP-6

This article provides an assessment of the "Kyoto mechanisms" – joint implementation, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and emissions trading established pursuant to Articles 6, 12 and 17 of the Kyoto Protocol. It focuses on significant policy issues raised by supplementarity, liability, equity and the design considerations relevant to operationalizing the mechanisms nationally and internationally.     

中国船舶企业的环境保护社会责任探析

国际海上运输促进了国际贸易的发展,但船舶航行中泄漏的油类和排放的温室气体也导致了对海洋和大气环境的污染.同时,船舶企业在造船、修船和拆船过程中的不当排放也导致了海洋环境的污染.环境保护是船舶企业应当承担的社会责任.为了保护海洋和大气环境,应对气候变化,国际海运界推行了一系列防止船舶油污和温室气体排放的措施和标准,对船舶企业设计和建造船舶提出了环境保护要求.中国船舶企业应当坚持绿色造船理念,设计和建造符合国际船舶能效要求的船舶,采用强调环境保护内容的造船合同文本以及在船舶建造、修理和拆解过程中注重对环境的保护.     

CDM交易主体的法律问题初探

CDM,即清洁发展机制作为《京都议定书》建立的三个主要灵活机制之一,旨在推动发达国家对发展中国家在减少温室气体排放方面的投资和技术转移,是一种共赢机制。随着CDM交易日渐发展,法律问题凸显,对CDM交易主体的研究密切关系中国利益,具有很强的法律实践的指导性。     

A Clean Development Mechanism with global atmospheric benefits for a post-2012 climate regime

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol allows the crediting of emission reductions from greenhouse gas (GHG) abatement projects in developing countries. The CDM is an offsetting mechanism and, in principle, a zero game to the atmosphere: emission reductions achieved from CDM projects allow industrialised countries to increase their emissions, respectively. The article explores how the CDM could be moved beyond a pure offsetting mechanism in a post-2012 climate regime by crediting only a fraction of the emission reductions from CDM projects, thereby providing a net atmospheric benefit. Potential implications on the carbon market are assessed in a qualitative manner and different design options for such a reform to the CDM are discussed. An important conclusion is that the effects on carbon market depend considerably on whether the use of the CDM is limited through caps or not.

CDM项目开发与发展研究——以陕西省为例

清洁发展机制(Clean Development Mechanism,CDM)在发达国家与展中国家之间,环境与经济之间能达致"双赢"。西北内陆能源资源丰富的陕西省CDM发展存在的问题,表现为项目开发数量偏少,开发领域狭窄。导致这一情况出现的原因主要包括政府不作为、企业缺乏将项目按CDM基准线和方法学建设的意识、中介机构也较为缺乏等。陕西必须从政府、企业、中介机构等方面推动CDM建设。     

Carbon dioxide capture and storage—liability for non-permanence under the UNFCCC

Carbon capture and storage (CCS) has recently been gaining more and more attention as a climate change mitigation option. However, as CO₂ may re-enter the atmosphere after injection into geological reservoirs, the question of long-term liability has to be considered if an environmentally sound policy is desired. Apart from this aspect, additional complexities arise from the fact that CO₂ capture and storage can be carried out in two different countries. A classification of CCS cross-border activities shows that not all cases with non-Annex I participation fall under the Clean Development Mechanism. This classification is based on the assumption that according to Article 1.8 of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, CCS would be considered an emission reduction at the source. Furthermore, we elaborate on the problem that seepage of CO₂ from reservoirs located in non-Annex I countries—under current rules—would not be subtracted from the emission budget of any country. We discuss options for creating liability in these cases.     

Research of China＇s Development Dilemma and Countermeasure of CDM Project in ＂Post-- Kyoto Era＂

＂后京都时代＂我国CDM市场可谓机遇与挑战并存。主要存在项目类型分布不合理、最终签发成功率低、融资渠道单一、缺乏科学合理的碳贸易体系等问题,因此政府相关部门应推出鼓励政策引导CDM项目协调发展;培育咨询机构、提高项目申报通过率;加快我国＂碳金融＂建设与改革,为CDM项目提供更多融资渠道选择;构建科学合理的碳贸易体系,以促进我国节能减排工作和CDM市场科学、健康、持续发展。     

Enhancing the clean development mechanism through sectoral approaches: definitions, applications and ways forward

Grave concerns with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) have increasingly surfaced in the international climate policy arena. The sectoral approaches described in this paper may be a way to address some of the shortcomings of this Kyoto mechanism. The paper outlines the criticisms that have been raised against the CDM as well as the conflicting interpretations of a sectoral approach and examines in how far it might resolve the mechanism’s perceived shortcomings. Furthermore, it outlines issues that need to be resolved when implementing a sectoral approach: distributing costs and benefits, defining the sector and its baseline, ensuring additionality and tackling procedural issues. A sectoral approach can enable countries to guide their structural development but it also opens up a gap between public and private investment that needs to be addressed before conflicts arise. Sectoral CDM activities may be able to lower transaction costs for projects that otherwise cannot compete in the CDM market and might even pave the way to sectoral greenhouse gas limitation targets in developing countries by establishing the necessary infrastructure for data collection. However, a sectoral CDM cannot be mistaken for a panacea. Some of the mechanism’s problems remain, which highlights the need to establish additional instruments to support Southern countries in furthering sustainable development and embarking on a low-emission trajectory.

UNFCCC negotiations (pre-Kyoto to COP-9): what the process says about the politics of CDM-sinks

One of the most contentious issues in the negotiations aimed at operationalizing the Kyoto Protocol was the treatment of sinks and, particularly, the eligibility of sinks projects in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This paper attempts to analyse the politics underlying these negotiations, drawing on methods of process tracing, key informant interviews, negotiating texts and secondary literature. Tracing the sinks debate and highlighting key lessons about the nature of global environmental agreements and their institutional arrangements is the first step to recounting the history of the politics of one of the major contemporary international environmental debates. The paper shows that the Kyoto Protocol negotiations on sinks and CDM-sinks were multilaterally supported as a practical solution, but went ‘off track’ due to actors’ interests and tradeoffs. As regards future negotiations on forest sinks in developing countries under the framework of the UNFCCC, the paper argues that these are likely to be influenced by similar constraints, and also by the conservation and development agenda of its supporters; as well as the experience gathered on the CDM and the interests and concerns of developing countries. We broadly frame the paper within the literature on global environmental politics.