ABSTRACT
This introduction presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book argues that designing flexibility within climate policy relies on being able to identify explicitly the conflicts between underlying objectives and to make appropriate trade-offs between them. It attempts to categorize different flexibility mechanisms according to a variety of defining characteristics, including the scope or scale of the trade, the actors involved in the arrangement, and the degree to which these actors are, or are not, bound by emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The book then discusses the question of equity in some depth and argues that host country equity is most likely to be at risk where institutional capacity is low, where environmental regulations are likely to be lax and where access to capital and resources is poor. It also discusses a number of different approaches to constructing appropriate baselines for joint implementation projects.
