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The document presents diverse perspectives on how trade affects climate change, arguing that while the transport sector is a major emitter, trade can support climate goals through environmental goods and technical standards. However, it warns that the EU's 'Global Europe' strategy and rigid intellectual property rights may undermine climate policies in developing nations. It calls for the WTO to formally recognize the primacy of climate regimes over trade rules to ensure that environmental measures are not blocked by trade disputes.

The report examines the nexus of trade and climate change, focusing on the liberalization of environmental goods, border carbon adjustments, embodied carbon, intellectual property rights, clean energy investment, and product standards. It argues that while trade policy can facilitate the diffusion of low-carbon technologies, it must be carefully aligned with development goals to avoid creating non-tariff barriers for developing nations. The document highlights the tension between protecting domestic industrial competitiveness and maintaining WTO compliance, particularly regarding processes and production methods (PPMs). It concludes that trade liberalization alone is insufficient and must be complemented by financial assistance, technology transfer, and regulatory frameworks to achieve significant emissions reductions.

The report uses scenario planning to analyze the uncertainties surrounding the WTO Doha Round and Southern Africa's trade relations. It identifies key driving forces and uncertainties, developing multiple scenarios for the multilateral trade talks, intra-regional integration (SADC, SACU, Comesa, EAC), and external relations with the US and EU. The document outlines 'preferred futures' and provides roadmaps with milestones to achieve them, emphasizing the need for proactive policy adjustments and strategic alliances.

The Foundation Course on Air Quality Management in Asia is a six-module educational program for adult learners aimed at improving urban air quality. The document provides an overview of the course's goals and a comprehensive glossary of technical terms related to atmospheric chemistry, health effects, and regulatory standards. It highlights the severe impact of urban air pollution in Asia, noting it causes an estimated 537,000 premature deaths annually, with indoor air pollution causing more than double that amount.

Ukraine began approving Joint Implementation (JI) projects in May 2007, with 13 projects approved by November 2007. The system is managed by the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), which utilizes a two-stage approval process involving a Letter of Endorsement (LoE) and a Letter of Approval (LoA). While the government prioritizes energy efficiency and renewable energy, the system faces administrative delays due to a lack of staff—only four individuals manage JI—and a lack of legislation regarding the transfer and taxation of Emission Reduction Units (ERUs). Despite these hurdles, project developers generally view the system as reasonable and supported by political will.

The text consists of remarks by David Runnalls at the Trade Ministers’ Dialogue on Climate Change Issues in Bali (2007). He asserts that climate change threatens global GDP and human well-being, potentially leading to the failure of the multilateral trading system if left unaddressed. Runnalls highlights that the UNFCCC and WTO frameworks are mutually supportive and suggests four primary areas of linkage: direct impacts of climate change on trade infrastructure, competitiveness impacts of national climate actions, legal interactions between the two regimes, and the use of trade policy to benefit the climate. Specifically, he proposes liberalizing trade in low-carbon goods, reducing fossil fuel subsidies, creating special rules for environmental subsidies, and improving technology transfer and intellectual property rights (IPRs) to facilitate a clean development path for developing countries.

The briefing examines the European Union's Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS), the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI), the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), and the Midwestern Regional Greenhouse Gas Reduction Accord. It argues that for cap-and-trade to be effective, the emissions cap must be sufficiently tight and the distribution of allowances should favor auctioning over free allocation to avoid windfall profits for firms.

The report documents first-hand experiences of climate change across nine countries, highlighting the extreme vulnerability of Indigenous Peoples and the global South. It details specific disasters—such as Hurricane Catarina in Brazil, Hurricane Mitch in Honduras, and severe droughts in Australia, Mali, and Swaziland—while showcasing grassroots adaptation efforts like mangrove reforestation in Malaysia and biological farming in Australia. The document argues for a global movement for climate justice that challenges the economic systems driving emissions and empowers marginalized communities to lead their own adaptation strategies.

The document analyzes 38 Russian and 15 Ukrainian JI projects submitted to the JISC by September 2007. It finds that while Russia has a larger total volume of projected emission reductions, Ukraine's portfolio is more diverse and shows a higher rate of technology transfer and foreign investment relative to its economy. Russia's portfolio is heavily dominated by gas pipeline refurbishment, whereas Ukraine's is led by industrial energy saving and coal mine methane projects. The author attributes these differences to institutional readiness, with Ukraine having established a more effective project approval system than Russia.

This research paper synthesizes data from hundreds of polling questions across more than 70 surveys to identify long-term trends in public opinion on global warming. The review focuses on six dimensions: public awareness, understanding of causes and policy, perceptions of scientific certainty and expert agreement, concern over impacts, support for policy action relative to economic costs, and support for the Kyoto climate treaty.

The report analyzes 43 proposed post-2012 climate regimes, categorizing them into five types: targets with flexibility mechanisms, targets with emissions trading only, policy and sectoral approaches, technology approaches, and other approaches. It argues that while the current project-based CDM is compatible with some regimes, an 'expanded CDM'—incorporating programmatic, policy-based, or sectoral crediting—could vastly increase the volume of greenhouse gas reductions but risks swamping the carbon market if not matched by ambitious developed-country targets. The authors emphasize the 'development dividend'—benefits beyond GHG reductions—and suggest that graduating large emitters (like the BRICSAM nations) from the CDM could improve regional equity for least developed countries (LDCs).

The report analyzes two primary competitiveness concerns: the 'non-Party problem,' where firms in non-participating nations gain an advantage, and the 'implementation problem,' where domestic policy choices create uneven playing fields. It concludes that while some sectors—particularly energy-intensive ones like aluminium—are vulnerable, overall impacts are often moderate. The report also details the complex interface between the Kyoto Protocol and the WTO, evaluating the legality of border tax adjustments, energy standards, and subsidies, suggesting that most conflicts arise from the design of specific measures rather than inherent treaty contradictions.

The document examines Russia's progress in meeting Kyoto Protocol compliance requirements and the delays in establishing a domestic Joint Implementation (JI) approval system. It highlights a general lack of political priority for climate change within Russia, where the regime is often viewed as a tool for wealth redistribution. While institutional compliance is nearing completion, inter-ministerial conflict and uncertainties over property rights hinder the launch of JI projects. The paper also notes that domestic debate on post-2012 climate positions has not yet begun, despite Russia's role as the world's third-largest emitter.

The Union of Concerned Scientists reports that ExxonMobil funded a network of ideological organizations to deceive the public about global warming. By spending approximately $16 million between 1998 and 2005, the company promoted a small group of contrarian scientists and used 'information laundering' through front groups to create a false impression of scientific debate. The report details how these tactics mirror the tobacco industry's historical efforts to hide the links between smoking and disease. Furthermore, the document outlines ExxonMobil's influence on the George W. Bush administration, including the appointment of climate negotiators and the censorship of government scientific reports.

The report details the status of Belarus's efforts to engage in carbon markets, noting that while the country has developed a legal framework and a pipeline of projects totaling 13 MtCO2e, the pending ratification of its Annex B amendment to the Kyoto Protocol has pushed the government to prioritize Voluntary Emission Reduction (VER) projects. It highlights the creation of a Department of Climate Change and a planned Carbon Fund, while noting investor concerns regarding bureaucratic barriers and a lack of expertise among middle-level officials.

The Russian Federation proposed a two-track approach to climate targets: a 'Kyoto track' to simplify the bureaucratic process for countries joining Annex B, and a 'Convention track' to recognize and incentivize voluntary targets by Non-Annex I countries through finance and technology transfer. While Annex B parties generally supported the simplification of accession procedures, Non-Annex I countries expressed skepticism, fearing that voluntary targets could eventually be converted into binding commitments. The report notes that the proposal lacked detail on the allocation of emitting rights for new Annex B members and suggests the initiative may have been driven by internal Russian agency competition.

The author contends that climate governance has been overly dominated by environment departments and a narrow community of specialists, leading to top-down targets in the Kyoto Protocol that lacked domestic feasibility. To succeed post-2012, the author proposes a shift toward sector-specific expert forums involving industry and government, a more flexible approach to binding targets to encourage major emitters like the U.S., and a tighter integration of climate mitigation with poverty alleviation and sustainable development in the Global South. The paper emphasizes that developed nations must demonstrate domestic leadership and leverage trade and investment flows, rather than relying solely on official development assistance, to engage developing countries in a comprehensive mitigation regime.

The document examines how trade policies influence climate change through scale, composition, technique, and direct effects, and analyzes the legal interactions between WTO law and the UNFCCC/Kyoto Protocol. It also assesses the physical impacts of climate change on trade infrastructure and the competitiveness implications of implementing climate regulations.

The report examines the implementation of the Montreal Protocol through the lens of the Swedish Ozone Layer Protection programme (OLP), identifying country ownership, capacity building, and stakeholder participation as critical governance factors for success. It argues that a shift from top-down regulation to bottom-up governance is necessary for sustainable national implementation of MEAs.

The document analyzes the proposed National Allocation Plans (NAPs) for the 2008-2012 period of the EU ETS, arguing that excessive free allowance allocation, particularly in the power sector, creates significant economic distortions. It finds that free allocations to new installations often act as subsidies for fossil fuel generation, potentially making coal power more profitable under the ETS than without it. The authors highlight a lack of harmonization across Member States, the underutilization of auctioning, and the risk of an 'early action problem' where historic-based allocations discourage immediate emission reductions. The paper suggests that reducing free allocations and increasing auctioning would improve cost-efficiency and support low-carbon investment.