A whole bundle of so-called "flexible mechanisms" has been foreseen by the Kyoto Protocol in order to help industrial countries to fulfil their agreed reduction targets in the most costeffective way. Emission permits will act as the backbone of all market-orientated mechanisms. Therefore, their...

The authors suggest a multi-layered system of three convergence criteria - similar to those used in the run-up to the European monetary union - that define the notion of "demonstrable progress" towards reaching the emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. These are the existence of an...

Joint Implementation (JI) is a potentially powerful instrument of climate policy that could lead to a high amount of additional financial flows to developing countries. Nevertheless, many NGOs and developing country representatives are very skeptical about JI and fear that it would not take into...