Market-based approaches to climate change mitigation offer options to buy and sell carbon credits in order to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) are two such approaches; however, both need improvement. The CDM has been criticised for not actually achieving emissions reductions and for not reaching equitable regional distribution of projects. The VCM has been accused of double counting and poor quality. As world leaders work towards a new global climate agreement, the role of governments will be both to improve and expand upon existing mechanisms, as well as ensure that diverse interests are considered, responsibilities are distributed equitably and that actions are transparent.

  
Anja Wucke
Sallie Lacy
Deutsche Gesellschaft für Technische
Zusammenarbeit (GTZ) GmbH
Eschborn, Germany
climate@gtz.de
Bonn, Germany