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The search returned 2 results.

Does the Climate Regime Need New Types of Mitigation Commitments? journal article

Wolfgang Sterk, Lukas Hermwille

Carbon & Climate Law Review, Volume 7 (2013), Issue 4, Page 270 - 282

Apart from the much-debated question of what legal form the 2015 climate agreement is supposed to have, another core issue is the substantive content of countries’ commitments. While the climate regime has so far mostly been based on emission targets, literature has identified a broad range of other possible types of mitigation commitments, such as technology targets, emission price commitments, or commitments to specific policies and measures (PAMs). The nationally appropriate mitigation actions (NAMAs) submitted by developing countries under the Cancún Agreements also show a broad range of different forms of participation. This article surveys the possible commitment types that have so far been discussed in literature and in the UNFCCC negotiations and assesses their respective advantages and disadvantages against a set of criteria: environmental effectiveness, cost effectiveness, distributional aspects and institutional feasibility. The article finds that no commitment option provides a silver bullet. All options have several advantages but also disadvantages. The environmentally most effective way forward may lie in pursuing a multi-dimensional approach, combining emission targets with other commitment types to compensate for the drawbacks of the emission-based approach. However, such an approach would also increase complexity, both in terms of the negotiations and in terms of implementation and administration.


New Market Mechanisms: Prerequisites for Implementation journal article

Wolfgang Sterk, Florian Mersmann

Carbon & Climate Law Review, Volume 6 (2012), Issue 4, Page 384 - 395

The Durban climate conference decided to establish a new market-based mechanism (NMM) that is to cover broad segments of countries’ economies. This article aims to explore the essential prerequisites for the implementation of an NMM. In addition to a theoretical discussion it considers the cases of China and Mexico. The article finds that the challenges in establishing market mechanisms that cover a broad segment of the economy are formidable and most developing countries have serious capacity constraints. Lead times can be expected to be at least 3–5 years. To move the process forward, it may be useful to consider promoting pilot activities similar to the Activities Implemented Jointly pilot phase that preceded the introduction of the flexible Kyoto mechanisms and the demonstration activities for Reducing Emissions from Avoided Deforestation and Forest Degradation.

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