ABSTRACT
The debate on a post-2012 Kyoto regime depends to a large extent on the question of how to include developing countries in the global endeavour to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The use of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been a first step to raise revenues and capacity for GHG reductions in developing countries. Demands for a more stringent inclusion of developing countries in the world's efforts to combat climate change have become louder; the United States has almost made its participation in anything like the Kyoto Protocol conditional on the inclusion of large GHG emitters such as China and India. From the perspective of most developing countries, the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities” reserves them the right to develop first, while the main responsibility for cutting emissions rests with the already industrialized countries. Legally binding commitments to reduction targets are currently not an option for countries such as China and India – as proven by the United Nations' COP-15 Conference on Climate Change in Copenhagen.
