The Copenhagen Accord drawn up after the UN climate conference in December is only three pages long. What is left out is probably more important than what it contains. The so-called deal, which the governments only

With no binding commitment on the part of the developed countries, Copenhagen was a dead deal. (Editorial)

Developing countries would be more likely to participate in any new international climate change agreement if they could earn and trade carbon credits from avoided deforestation, also known as 'REDD'.

As the dust settles after Copenhagen and the barriers to reaching global consensus on combating climate change are put into stark relief, REDD still has potential to become a UNFCCC success story. In relation to REDD, there is agreement on many core issues and significant momentum remains towards a REDD mechanism firmly engrained in the post-2012 climate change framework.

Amidst debates between the North and the South, Emission Trading (ET), Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation (JI) were adopted as flexible mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol. These mechanisms allow developed countries to meet their emission reduction targets by investing in clean projects in other countries of their choice.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol is a dual purpose mechanism aiming to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable development. However the CDM, as a market mechanism, seems incapable of fulfilling this latter purpose. Bui lding on the dichotomy between market liberalism and sustainable development as identified by D.M.

The author who has been in the forefront of negotiations for climate change has given a first hand account of the negotiations at Copenhagen and what needs to be done now. He vividly brings out the thought process and the stands taken by various countries also highlighting the outcome of the accord which was reached at Copenhagen at the very last moment.

Many studies have been published to evaluate the consequences of different post-2012 emission allocation regimes on regional mitigation costs. This paper goes one step further and evaluates not only mitigation costs, but also adaptation costs and climate change damages.