The importance of cities in climate policy stems from the simple reality that they house the majority of the world’s population, two-thirds of world energy use and over 70% of global energy use emissions. At the international level, global carbon markets have become an important new source of...

Tackling the problem of global climate change requires a high level of international cooperation. Many countries have pledged targets or actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the Appendices to the Copenhagen Accord. This analysis examines the costs and effectiveness of these pledges,...

A new international climate change agreement that will have legal force and be applicable to all countries is being negotiated under the auspices of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The agreement is to be adopted by 2015 and come into effect from 2020. An...

The term low-emission development strategies (LEDS) first emerged under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 2008 and its possible role in a future climate framework continues to be debated. Though no formally agreed definition exists, LEDS are generally used to...

In 2010, the international community took steps to improve the system of reporting and verification under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Parties to the UNFCCC decided at the sixteenth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 16) to enhance reporting for...

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Kyoto Protocol established reporting requirements for Parties. This has resulted in comprehensive and timely information on national greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from Annex I Parties, periodic reporting of other information from...

At COP 17 in Durban, countries defined a new market-based mechanism to promote cost-effective mitigation actions, guided by a set of principles previously agreed at COP 16. These principles include “stimulating mitigation across broad segments of the economy”, “ensuring a net decrease...

The use of tradable greenhouse gas (GHG) units to meet emissions reduction goals is likely to continue after 2012 as many countries have expressed support for using market mechanisms to promote and enhance the cost-effectiveness of mitigation. Most such mechanisms would use tradable GHG units...

Carbon market mechanisms such as emissions trading systems and crediting mechanisms can have multiple objectives. A key goal is to lower the cost of achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. Market mechanisms can also catalyse investment in low carbon technologies and practices,...

The Cancun Agreements outlined the list of topics to be included in biennial reports and indicated that guidelines for them were to be developed, but provided limited guidance on their structure and content. This paper proposes a structure for biennial reports for both developed and developing...