Co-ordinating Lead Authors: IGOR BASHMAKOV (RUSSIAN FEDERATION), CATRINUS JEPMA

CONTENTS The purpose of this chapter is to examine the major types of policies and measures that can be used to mitigate net concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. 1 Alternative policy instruments are described and assessed in terms of specific criteria, on the basis of the most recent literature. Naturally, emphasis is on the instruments mentioned in the Kyoto Protocol (the Kyoto mechanisms), because they focus on achieving GHG emissions limits, and the extent of their envisaged international application is unprecedented. In addition to economic dimensions, political, economic, legal, and institutional elements are considered insofar as they are relevant to the discussion of policies and measures. Any individual country can choose from a large set of possible policies, measures, and instruments to limit domestic GHG emissions. These can be categorized into market-based instruments (which include taxes on emissions, carbon, and/or energy, tradable permits, subsidies, and deposit–refund systems), regulatory instruments (which include non-tradable permits, technology and performance standards, product bans, and direct government spending, including research and development investment) and voluntary agreements (VAs) of which some fall in the category of market-based instruments. Likewise, a group of countries that wants to limit its collective GHG emissions could agree to implement one, or a mix, of instruments. These are (in arbitrary order) tradable quotas, Joint Implementation (JI), the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), harmonized taxes on emissions, carbon, and/or energy, an international tax on emissions, carbon, and/or energy, non-tradable quotas, international technology and product standards, VAs, and direct international transfers of financial resources and technology. Possible criteria for the assessment of policy instruments include environmental effectiveness, cost effectiveness, distribution considerations, administrative and political feasibility, government revenues, wider economic effects, wider environmental effects, and effects on changes in attitudes, awareness, learning, innovation, technical progress, and dissemination of technology. Each government may apply different weights to various criteria when evaluating policy options for GHG miti-gation, depending on national and sector-level circumstances. Moreover, a government may apply different sets of weights to the criteria when evaluating national (domestic) versus international policy instruments. The economics literature on the choice of policies adopted emphasizes the importance of interest-group pressures, focus-ing on the demand for regulation. However, it has tended to neglect the " supply side " of the political equation, which is emphasized in the political science literature of the legislators and government and party officials who design and implement regulatory policy, and who ultimately …