The International Maritime Organization (IMO) could soon find itself butting heads with Brussels over how best to tackle emissions from international shipping, analysts say, after the UN shipping body was unable to make "tangible progress" in this area at last week's major meeting.

PES is often touted as win-win with both environmental gains and poverty alleviation. But REDD+ does not neccesarily translate into forest conservation or benefit local communities.

Carbon prices have plunged in both Europe and the US recently as the fragile global economy takes its toll. However, interest in green markets remains relatively unscathed, with voluntary emissions and biomass markets ones to watch in 2012, writes Pauline McCallion.

Carbon prices under the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme have dropped dramatically this year and are widely expected to remain low for some time. Jay Maroo looks at the implications of this for the market as it approaches its third phase in 2013.

Scientific evidence suggests that increasing amounts of carbon in the atmosphere are causing climate change that will result in global warming, sea -level rise and more extreme weather events. In response to anthropogenic climate change, market-based mechanisms have been proposed to mitigate these rising carbon dioxide emissions. One of these mechanisms is known
as REDD (Reduction of Emissions from Deforestation and forest Degradation). It works to prevent the loss of forests that play a key role in sequestering carbon and regulating the global climate.

Annual revenue flow to developing countries for ecotourism (or nature-based tourism) could be as large as US$ 210×1012, providing an enormous financial incentive against habitat loss and exploitation. However, is ecotourism the most privately and/or socially valuable use of rainforest land?

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