An international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which commits signatories to internationally binding emission reduction targets; a protocol ‘recognized as the most important global agreement of the late twentieth century, not only for fixing greenhouse gases (GHG) emission limits to be achieved by industrialized nations by 2012, but also for providing three flexible mechanisms through which industrialized countries can achieve their emission reduction objectives. These mechanisms: Joint Implementation (JI), Emission Trading (ET), and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allow industrialized countries to meet their emission reduction targets through joint efforts or through projects abroad rather than through domestic actions alone. They give industrialized countries the opportunity to earn emission reduction credits anywhere in the world, at the lowest cost possible’ (Olawuyi (2010) Law, Environment & Devt J., p. 21).
Kerr (2007) Area 39, 4 examines the efficacy of national climate programmes to meet emissions reduction targets: only four of 21 countries with defined programmes demonstrate improved emissions trends following their inception and in only one is the change statistically significant. See also Bailey (2007) AAAG 97, 3.