The Kyoto Protocol sets legally binding emission targets for industrialised countries without accounting for reductions carried out prior to 2008, the beginning of the first commitment period. There exists only one exception, the project-based Clean Development Mechanism where credits accrue...

The aim of this paper is to present an alternative methodology for discounting far distant future externalities genereted by an investment project: time-declining discount rates. First I present the experimental evidence on individuals' time-inconsistency. Second I consider the theoretical...

Taking account of sinks credits as agreed in Bonn and Marrakech, this paper illustrates how market power could be exerted in the absence of the US ratification under Annex 1 trading and explores the potential implications of the non-competitive supply behavior for the international market of...

We develop and discuss the three pathways to European Greenhouse Gas Emissions Trading: a top-down scheme based on the Kyoto Protocol of the UNFCCC, a bottom-up scheme linking national trading systems of EU Member States, and an EU-wide regional scheme based on the founding principles of the...

In the paper we propose an to evaluation of the environmental effects of consumption activities. The approach consists of two steps, namely (1) assignment of environmental effects to consumption activities, for which we propose to use the methods of (multidimensional) cost sharing, and (2) a...

The essential problem with the Kyoto approach is that it provides poor incentives for participation and compliance. The minimum participation clause is set at such a low level that the agreement can enter into force while limiting the emissions of less than a third of the global total. The...

Adoption of climate change response options generates not only global carbon-saving benefits but also local externalities, here denominated as secondary benefits. So far funding for global warming response options, such as GEF, has discriminated against secondary benefits (SD) in their project...

In this paper, the expansion of private production erodes the quality of commonly owned goods, thereby forcing individuals to rely increasingly on private goods to satisfy their needs. In the face of this deterioration, households keep their labour supplies and saving rates relatively high in...

The framework of the Kyoto Protocol, an agreement for the world's rich countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, is deeply flawed. This paper explains why. The Protocol lacks essential country coverage, provides an inadequate basis for allocating emission rights, lacks provision for...