The World Bank meeting this week amoung several countries seeking to establish or in the process of establishing carbon markets is part of a larger program called the Partnership for Market Readiness. The participating countries include the fastest growinig and highest greenhouse gase-emitting developing countries:
The development of emissions markets, a concept that was largely adopted and developed and continues in the US for traditional air emissions, and a growing number of states for greenhouse gases, is being widely adopted in many developed and developing countries.
In my book, Carbon Trading Law and Practice, I outline the elements of carbon markets and the legislation and regulations that form carbon markets.
The concept of bringing markets to environmental challenges and regulations is a growing form of regulation that allows market efficiencies to find the lowest cost means of addressing an environmental concern, and is far more efficient in most cases, than a pollution tax or a traditional command and control form of regulation.
The World Bank is providing assistance to the developing countries that are seeking to address greenhouse gases through a lower cost, market-based approach.
