Long before the Kyoto Protocol was signed, a number of companies and NGOs started to invest voluntarily in forest carbon offsets thereby creating a voluntary carbon market. Within the climate movement, the assessment of forest carbon offsets for mitigating climate change is one of the major ‘battle lines.’ A large group of critical civil-society actors categorically rejects these instruments. This group sets the formation of carbon markets in the wider context of finance-driven neoliberalism. Rather established international NGOs, such as Conservation International actively support forest carbon offsets as additional incentives for forest conservation. In 2005 international NGOs, companies and academic institutions developed the Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standards (CCB). CCB standards aim to guarantee that certified projects mitigate climate change and contribute to local development and habitat conservation. Drawing on two forest carbon offsets certified according to the CCB standards this contribution analyzes the role of civil society actors within forest carbon offset governance and seeks to evaluate the in- and output legitimacy of the CCB standards.
The study is far from an exhaustive examination of these issues. In many areas, the analysis is speculative, aimed at raising questions and suggesting areas where domestic and international policy makers may need to consider undertaking further analysis. Above all, it should be stressed that the study raises these matters at a very general level. Whether any given governmental measure is consistent with WTO rules is a highly contextual question, that may well depend on the exact design features of that particular measure, and its broader context – regulatory, technological and commercial. Thus, nothing in this study should be considered as a judgment that any actual measure of any particular government violates WTO rules.
The study has also been prepared at a time when countries across the income spectrum are taking a fresh look at local content requirements, after having largely phased them out in traditional strategic industries such as fossil fuel energy and automobiles. Questions explored include:
This policy brief looks at the impacts of environmental regulations on regulated companies. It presents an overview of what competitiveness means, at the level of firms, sectors and countries; and explains how competitiveness effects occur, why it is important to assess them and how they are measured. The main focus of the policy brief is a review of the exisiting evidence. The authors focus on ex post evaluation studies. Ex ante modelling studies are not included. They discuss the impact of environmental regulations on productivity, employment, trade, industry location and innovation. And they conclude by discussing what the literature teaches about improving environmental regulations and identifying priorities for future research.
Key findings from the policy brief include:
This Discussion Paper presents a normative concept of green industrial policy, which is defined as encompassing any policy measure aimed at aligning the structure of a country’s economy with the needs of sustainable development within established planetary boundaries. The paper elaborates on the rationale of a green industrial policy, how it differs from conventional industrial policy, why it is faced with significantly bigger challenges, and how these can be met.