Emission R Ception

Emission Reduction Banking Manual

Climate and Development

The Hamburg Congress on Climate and Development was conceived as a response to the worldwide interest on issues of climatic change and variability. It was intended as an interdisciplinary forum to bring together differing perceptions in a face to face dialogue. Even though concern over climate change has been on the international agenda of international interest became evident in the for over a decade, a new surge wake of two recent events. One was the widespread support received by the 1987 Brundtland Commission Report, Our Common Future, and the other was the 1988 Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer. Although the problem of the ozone layer related to a single category of sub stances (CFCs), it took many years and a dramatk discovery of the ozone hole in Antarctica to allow for a breakthrough leading to an international agreement. The problems associated with climatic change and variability are much more com plex and pervasive than those of the ozone layer, and a much wider range of national and international issues are involved. The discussions in the 1988 session of the General Assembly of the United Nations revealed a surge of interest and growing awareness of the international community of the issues involved. Before that, the June 1988Toronto Conference on "The Changing Atmosphere: Implications for Global Security" was a signifi cant effort in forging a consensus on desirable targets for global action.

China's Way to Carbon Emissions Reduction

Now that the most recent scientific estimates have shown that China has become the world's largest source of greenhouse gas emissions, China's influence on the world's environment and sustainable development highlights the importance of tailoring Chinese climate change law to conform with the requirements of international conventions and agreements on climate change. This thorough analysis, based on an examination of climate status, legal background, and current regulatory systems in China, examines the potential role of different policy instruments in reducing carbon emissions in order to find an appropriate choice for China, and recommends approaches to key issues for relevant authorities. The author conducts a comprehensive and in-depth study on the three mainstream environmental policy instruments used to control carbon emissions – the cap-and-trade system, the carbon tax, and command-and- control regulations – in a Chinese context. She reviews China's current policies, and elucidates how the issues of climate change and global warming call for social, environmental, economic, and legal reforms in China, especially in the areas of administrative law and property rights law. Among the issues and topics covered are the following: - key issues on designing and implementing each of the three policy instruments; - the choice of regulatory instruments for carbon emissions reduction in a socialist market economy based on the discussion of market failure and government failure theories; - legal challenges from China's current administrative legislation and the definition of carbon emissions entitlements; - practical effect of China's climate change policy at the national, provincial, and local levels; - effectiveness of China's implementation of its international obligations; - lessons learned from schemes implemented in the United States and Australia; - comparison of China's seven regional pilot emissions trading scheme (ETS) programmes with the well-established EU ETS; - linkage between China's ETS and other ETSs from a global perspective; and - future direction of an emerging carbon market in China. The analysis assesses the critical costs and benefits of each approach in the context of selected case studies, taking legal literature in the field fully into account. Given that the Chinese government is taking steps to reduce emissions by altering energy production and usage and is signalling a willingness to make similar commitments in a multilateral treaty, it is very timely and important for lawmakers and scholars, within and outside China, to think about new and appropriate regulatory measures to respond to the crisis and plan for a sustainable future. This study provides not only a useful benchmark for both China and other countries in formulating initiatives on enhancing climate protection, but also details the global implications for governments and for international organizations concerned with the understanding between China and the rest of the world in the context of climate change mitigation.