* Thorough, authoritative explanation of the instruments involved in the carbon trading market being launched through the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, the Kyoto Protocol and other mechanisms
* The market for carbon and greenhouse gas permits will be huge --potentially as large as the fossil fuel, (oil, gas and coal] markets it aims to counteract
* Essential practical guide and reference for those involved in the market and its development, from industry and finance to policy-makers

On January 1, 2005, the EU Emissions Trading Scheme [ETS] comes into force. In its first phase, in the EU alone, c.10,000 industrial companies will have to trade emissions allowances to manage their energy consumption and carbon outputs. From 2008 on, other economic sectors such as transport, construction and real estate will be brought into the Scheme; and the number of companies and organizations that can trade carbon permits under the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol is enormous. Carbon trading is seen as the most efficient and effective way to mitigate climate change and will be very widely adopted.

This volume provides a full account of the rules, institutions and procedures governing access and use of international, EU and national mechanisms, particularly the ETS, and Kyoto ones--The Clean Development Mechanism, emissions trading and Joint Implementation, as well as the EU ‘linking directive’ allowing carbon trading under the different mechanisms to be linked.