ABSTRACT

Introduction As the Kyoto Protocol comes into force, many in the general public are surprised to learn of the actual outworkings and ramifications of the treaty. The mechanisms that carry out the Protocol, the so-called flexibility mechanisms, allow the heaviest polluting countries of the world a way out of making emission reduction cuts by purchasing credits to offset their emissions, thereby mitigating the necessity for expensive changes in production and energy use. The three mechanisms-joint implementation, the clean development mechanism, and emissions trading-allow those countries that emit greenhouse gases (GHG) over their emission targets the option to purchase credits or to produce credits in other countries to offset their own emissions and to meet their Protocol commitments.1 In effect, these three mechanisms create an international market for GHG credits that can be bought or sold. As it is the most ambitious policy option of the three, this chapter focuses on emissions trading and the philosophic motivations for pursuing such a policy. The idea of social progress, as conceived in the late 18th century, will be laid out as a motivating factor of this policy.