Reports & Papers
from
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Introduction
On October 5, 2000 Harvard University''s John F. Kennedy School of Government hosted a workshop on the potential for establishing a carbon dioxide emissions trading program in Russia. The Umbrella Group of countries, which includes the United States, Japan, and Russia, has long advocated the establishment of an international CO2 or greenhouse gas reduction targets by purchasing credits in another country. Under the Kyoto Protocol, emission trading would be limited to Annex B countries and thus, Russia could be a major seller of credits, while the United States, Japan and the EU countries would be major buyers of those credits. As a result, Russia could obtain additional revenue and attract greater investment. However, many obstacles need to be addresses before Russia can establish its own workable domestic greenhouse gas trading regime, a key prerequisite for joining international markets.
This seminar brought together senior government officials from Russia and the United States, as well as academic, industry and NGO experts. It provided an opportunity for representatives from both countries to identify obstacles to emissions trading and address options for managing them. The session was off-the-record, and the participants were promised that their comments would not be attributed. This rapporteur''s report summarizes these discussions. It does not purport to be comprehensive, and, to protect the identity of the speakers, we have left out some of the discussions and arguments.
