Distributive justice in international law: can the CDM regime support an equitable geographic distribution of projects?

This research determines whether and how an equitable geographic distribution of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects can be achieved. In particular, it examines whether the CDM legal regime can achieve an equitable geographic distribution of projects, or whether the issues that contribute to the inequitable distribution are fundamental to the design of the regime. The two main questions answered by this research are: how should CDM projects be distributed among countries, that is, what is the meaning of equitable geographic distribution of CDM projects; and can the CDM regime achieve this distribution? The answer to the first question defines equitable geographic distribution and outlines the factors that should be considered to help achieve this distribution, which are: greenhouse gas emission reduction potential, need (or sustainable development potential) and preferential treatment. The answer to the second question is that although the CDM regime can achieve a slightly more equitable geographic distribution than is currently the case, a truly equitable geographic distribution cannot be achieved under the regime, primarily because of the market nature of the CDM. The thesis then makes recommendations on how to achieve a distribution of CDM projects among countries that can be regarded as more equitable than the current distribution.