Covering the practical challenges of implementing the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, carbon offsetting strategies and the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) and more, this book is the most comprehensive and accessible guide to understanding the opportunities offered by regulated and voluntary carbon markets for tackling climate change.

Coverage includes: an overview of the problem of climate change, with a concise review of the most recent scientific evidence in different fields; a highly accessible overview of the economic theory and different constitutive elements of a carbon allowances market; explanation of the Kyoto Protocol's flexibility mechanisms; explanation of how the EU Emissions Trading Scheme works in practice; coverage of regulated carbon markets in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa; ongoing developments in regulated carbon markets in the USA, Canada, and Japan; global voluntary carbon markets.

Combining theoretical aspects with practical applications, this book is for business leaders, financiers, carbon traders, lawyers, bankers, researchers, policy makers and anyone interested in market-mechanisms to mitigate climate change.

Table of Contents:

Introduction * Climate Change * The History and Theory of Emissions Trading: A New Tool for Environmental Management * The Kyoto Protocol * The EU Emission Trading Scheme * The Emission Trading System proposals in the USA * The Emission Trading System proposals in Canada * The New-Zealand Emission Trading Scheme * The Emission Trading Systems in Australia * The Emission Trading System proposals in South-Africa * The Voluntary Emission Trading Scheme in Japan * Voluntary offsetting markets * Conclusion (including the impact of the credit crunch on carbon finance)