The EU Legal Frameworks - The Sustainability of Renewable Energy in Europe - page 28

Another important institution of the UNFCCC is the Compliance Committee,
whose purpose is to evaluate and approve the statements submitted by Annex I par-
ties regarding their emission reductions.
It must be emphasized that in the absence of real and effective sanctions for non-
compliance, the countries which do not fulfill the obligations of the Kyoto Protocol
undergo only the disadvantage of less favorable measures provided in the protocol
itself for some years to come.
So the effective implementation of the protocol is entrusted to the will of the
parties.
The verification of fulfillment of the obligations reduction of emissions accord-
ing to the Kyoto Protocol, in particular with reference to the flexible mechanisms,
is carried out with a system of emission allowance or emission units. At the begin-
ning of the commitment period, each party of Annex B receives a certain assigned
amount of emission units from the UNFCCC. These units are issued and managed
as records on computer systems, called registers. Each unit of output corresponds
to 1 t of CO 2 equivalent of GHG. The assigned amount represents total GHG emis-
sions allowed to the parts in relation to their targets. Each country decides for itself
whether and how to distribute the amount allocated among its various emission
sources.
The Kyoto Protocol introduces the possibility for Annex I countries to fulfill
their obligations to reduce GHG emissions through the flexible mechanisms. These
instruments represent the clearing of the traditional system of command and control
in favor of a market-based approach designed to combine environmental protection
operations and profit needs of the industrial world. It seeks, therefore, to contribute
to the reduction of the GHG effect through an environmental policy that is not too
burdensome for the global system: no more strict obligations and fixed costs, but
flexibility and profit margins.
In this light, flexible mechanisms constitute an intervention to reduce emissions
additional to national actions taken to fulfill the commitments of the Kyoto Proto-
col, and they are:
• JI
• CDM
• ETS
The JI mechanism is provided by Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol. It is a mechanism
based on projects to reduce GHG emissions according to which each Annex I coun-
try can contribute to the fulfillment of its obligations to reduce emissions through
the use of ERUs, resulting from projects undertaken in another Annex I country, in
order to limit emissions or increase removals of GHG by so-called carbon sinks.
The ERUs may be issued only for the period 2008-2012. The country investor may
also involve other legal units, such as industry or institutional investors, in transac-
tions of transfer and acquisition of emission reductions, pledging anyway to control
their actions in the international context.
The CDM is provided by Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol which defines the gen-
eral aspects, without providing a complete discipline. This mechanism is configured