Policy Paper: Use of External Units in the European Union Emissions Trading System Post-2012

The EU is currently discussing a revision of the EU ETS for the period after 2012, including significant revisions to the rules on the use of CDM and JI. There are various issues that are being hotly debated. These are in particular quantitative limits on the use of offsets, the eligibility of project types, quality criteria for projects and the introduction of Domestic Offset Projects (DOPs). This paper aims to lay out the controversial issues and derive policy recommendations on the best way forward.

JIKO policy papers are written and published by the Wuppertal Institute on behalf of the German Environment Ministry (BMU). The positions expressed in this policy paper are strictly those of the authors and represent neither the opinion of the Wuppertal Institute nor of the BMU.