2008 Research Highlights And Press Coverage

The document presents a portfolio of 2008 research by Climate Strategies, focusing on the EU ETS, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and G8 climate opportunities. Key analyses include the risks of carbon leakage in industrial sectors, the underperformance of CDM projects in terms of certified emission reductions, and the economic rationale for transitioning from free allowance allocation to auctioning in the EU ETS. It also includes the Eliasch Review on financing global forests and a study on the development of mandatory emissions trading in Japan.

• In the EU ETS, carbon leakage is not an economy-wide problem but is limited to a small number of highly carbon-intensive manufacturing subsectors. For the UK, only 1% to 2% of GDP is associated with activities facing significant cost increases from carbon pricing, though these sectors contribute 11% of total UK GHG emissions.
• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) shows significant underperformance in the issuance of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). While forecasts at the registration stage predicted 85.2 million CERs per year, only 64.8 million (76%) were actually issued, with waste projects performing worst at a 31% issuance rate.
• Free allocation of emissions allowances in the EU ETS creates perverse incentives and distorts carbon price signals for investment. Transitioning to auctioning is recommended to create a transparent market framework and generate government revenue to support low-carbon innovation and poor households.
• The Eliasch Review argues that the global forest sector produces approximately 17% of global emissions, making it the third largest source of greenhouse gas emissions. It suggests that including deforestation and degradation (REDD) in carbon trading could reduce deforestation rates by up to 75% by 2030.
• Japan is transitioning from voluntary climate instruments, such as the JVETS and Keidanren Voluntary Action Plan, toward a mandatory emissions trading scheme. Direct bilateral linkages to other schemes are unlikely before 2013 because absolute targets are not expected until then.
• For the G8, it is recommended to introduce legally-binding international cap-and-trade systems for international aviation and marine transport, as these sectors account for nearly 10% of global oil consumption and over 1 billion tonnes of CO2 per year.
• Carbon price projections for Phase III of the EU ETS are likely overestimated due to a historical tendency to inflate environmental control costs and underestimate technological responses. Realised prices are expected to be in the lower range of €20-40/tCO2.

APA

Climate Strategies (2008). 2008 Research Highlights And Press Coverage. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/binder1final.pdf

Chicago

Climate Strategies. 2008 Research Highlights And Press Coverage. 2008. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/binder1final.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Climate Strategies |title=2008 Research Highlights And Press Coverage |date=10 November 2008 |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/binder1final.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{climatestrategies20082008, author = {{Climate Strategies}}, title = {{2008 Research Highlights And Press Coverage}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, year = {2008}, month = nov, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/binder1final.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }