Seminar paper from the year 2009 in the subject Politics - Environmental Policy, grade: 1,3, Ernst Moritz Arndt University of Greifswald (Institut für Politik- und Kommunikationswissenschaft), course: International environmental politics, language: English, abstract: This paper examines whether neo-Gramscian perspectives can explain the genesis of the three market mechanisms in the international climate regime, which are emissions trading, the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI). As far as I know no other article examined exactly this question before. After the description of the theory and a short introduction of these tools with their advantages and drawbacks, the history of the market mechanisms is explained in order to see whether the case goes hand in hand with the neo-Gramscian perspectives. The result is that these approaches can perfectly explain the genesis of the market mechanisms although a very little number of facts could maybe better explained with a governmentality approach.

The carbon markets are in the middle of a fundamental crisis - a crisis marked by collapsing prices, fleeing actors, and ever increasing greenhouse gas levels. Yet carbon trading remains at the heart of global attempts to respond to climate change. Not only this, but markets continue to proliferate - particularly in the Global South. The Politics of Carbon Markets helps to make sense of this paradox and brings two urgently needed insights to the analysis of carbon markets. First, the markets must be understood in relation to the politics involved in their development, maintenance and opposition. Second, this politics is multiform and pervasive. Implementation of new techniques and measuring tools, policy development and contestation, and the structuring context of institutional settings and macro-social forces all involve a variety of political actors and create new forms of political agency. The contributions study the total extent of the carbon markets, from their prehistory to their contemporary expansion and wider impacts. This wide-ranging political perspective on the carbon markets is invaluable to those studying and interested in ecological markets, climate change governance and environmental politics.

First Published in 2009. Routledge is an imprint of Taylor & Francis, an informa company.

It is a well known fact that carbon dioxide is the most important greenhouse gas produced by combustion of fuels. It's rising concentration in the Earth's atmosphere has become a cause of global concern at the international platform. Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) provides measures to control greenhouse gas emissions from the various industries and commercial units by evolving the mechanisms of Joint Implementation, Emission Trading and Clean Development Mechanism. This has created a global carbon market, with an opportunity for the trade of carbon credits.The paper discusses the international legal regime on carbon trading, starting from the first legally binding treaty known as UNFCCC, detailing the Kyoto Protocol containing the mechanisms to earn carbon credits including the Post-Kyoto developments-from Bali to Lima. The paper then proceeds to analyze the obligation of India under the Kyoto Protocol and then provides the legal and policy measures adopted by India to facilitate CDM and carbon trading in India. It outlines various policy measures like National Action Plan and State Action Plans on Climate Change, Climate Change Action Programme, National Mission on Enhanced Energy Efficiency (NMEEE), 2010, Perform Achieve And Trade (PAT), Renewable Energy Credit Trading System (REC), PILOT ETS in some Indian States. The relevant provisions of Energy Conservation Act, 2001 and The Environmental Protection Act, 1986, Air (Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act, 1981 are also discussed. The last part, identifies and examines some legal issues in carbon trading in the field of taxation and contract and concludes that to encourage and regulate the upcoming market of carbon trading in India, a specific legislation covering all aspects of the issues involved in carbon trading should be enacted.

This is a thorough, authoritative explanation of the instruments involved in the carbon trading market being launched through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the Kyoto Protocol and other mechanisms.