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The purpose of this paper is to analyse the certified emission reduction (CERs) disclosure and reporting practices followed by Indian firms.

The study is based on all 131 Indian firms who received the CERs under the CDM of UNFCCC. The content analysis is being used to examine the recognition, measurement, presentation and disclosure of CERs within the financial statements.

The study found that there is generally no uniformity of accounting for CERs. The firms adopted a diversity of accounting practices. More specifically, majority of companies (40.46 per cent) recognised CERs as the other income; a very high non-disclosure rate (91.60 per cent) for valuation of CERs inventories was found as only four companies (3.05 per cent) provided accounting treatment for CERs inventories at lower of cost or net realisable value followed by three companies (2.29 per cent) accounted for these inventories at Net realisable value at the end of the reporting period; similarly, a very high non-disclosure rate (92.36 per cent) for how companies account for expenses incurred in earning these credits was found.

The study will be useful for a wide array of audiences ranging from accounting standard setter to the auditors. The present analysis is based on secondary data, as we examined only annual reports of the sample companies to know how they recognise their earned CERs within the financial statements. So, we did not cover the opinions of various key persons of companies like an accountant, auditors etc. which could be a limitation of this study in validating CERs disclosure practices followed by the Indian firms.

To the best of the author's knowledge, the present study is a first of its kind to analyse the carbon credit disclosure practices in the context of a developing country.

As a typical nature-based solution to climate change, forestry carbon sinks are vital to achieving carbon neutrality in China. However, regulations in China are insufficient to promote the development of carbon offset projects in forestry. This study aims to identify the regulatory obstacles impeding the development of forestry offsets under China’s certified emission reduction (CCER) and explore ways to improve the regulatory system.

This study conducts a qualitative analysis using a normative legal research method. This study conducted a synthetic review of national and local regulatory documents to gain insights into the regulatory landscape of forestry offsets in China. The main contents and characteristics of these documents are illustrated. Furthermore, related secondary literature was reviewed to gain further insight into forestry offset regulations and to identify significant gaps in China’s CCER regulation.

Forestry offset regulations under the CCER are characterized by fragmentation and a relatively lower legally binding force. There is no systematic institutional arrangement for forestry offset development, impeding market expectations and increasing transaction costs. The main challenges in China’s regulation of forestry carbon sinks include entitlement ambiguity, complicated rules for registration and verification, a lack of mechanisms for incentives, risk prevention and biodiversity protection.

Forestry carbon sinks’ multiple environmental and social values necessitate their effective development and utilization. This study assessed forestry offset regulations in China and proposed corresponding institutional arrangements to improve forestry carbon sink regulations under the CCER.

Certified emission reduction (CER) survey studies in the literature are quite restrictive in scope. These studies are based on convenience sampling and, therefore, cannot be relied upon. The current study comprehensively surveys the strengths, weaknesses and suggestive measures for clean development mechanism (CDM). This paper systematically aims to conduct the survey on top 50 companies in terms of CER volume.

The survey is aimed to target top 50 companies which account for 55 per cent of total number of CERs of all the Indian projects. The online survey link was sent to all 50 companies, and the finance managers were followed up regularly over a period of one year. Finally, 37 responses (a response rate of 72 per cent) have been received.

“CER is cheaper than EUA for Emission Compliance” is rated as topmost strength and “Methodology of Financial Additionality is Subjective” is rated as topmost weakness of CER mechanism. Removal of Quantitative Restrictions on CERs is rated as the topmost suggestive measure for stabilization of CER. Companies overwhelmingly favored continuation of banking and inclusion of carbon emission cost as one of the internal cost of business.

The current study throws light on future policy interventions for minimization of carbon footprint and efficient energy management.

This study gives vital reflections for stabilization of CDM. This will help sustainable development, generation of green energy, mitigation of carbon emission at the least cost and employment generation in developing countries because of CDM project development.

This study differs from earlier studies because it comprehensively surveys the pertinent issues relating to strengths, weaknesses and suggestive measures for CDM. It also differs from them because it is not based on convenience sampling. It conducts the survey systematically on top 50 companies in terms of CER volume. Therefore, unlike previous studies of questionable validities, the findings of this study can be safely considered for policy interventions

This paper aims to review the developments in India with respect to clean development mechanism (CDM) of Kyoto Protocol to assess the achievements during first Kyoto Protocol period (2008-2012) in climate change mitigation and suggest measure for better participation during the second commitment period. The paper further makes an attempt to explore the experience, concerns and expectations of the Indian project proponents of green projects registered with CDM Executive Board.

This paper employs two methods: informal interviews with executives of World Bank, Designated National Authority (DNA) of India for CDM, leading international CDM consulting firms and a questionnaire survey of Indian CDM projects proponents.

During first commitment period valid up to December 31, 2012, India remained active participant in the CDM, the only mechanism of Kyoto Protocol where developing countries can participate and join in mitigation of climate change, through the development of green projects and thereby earning additional revenue in terms of carbon finance by sale of carbon credits. The study finds out that in the global CDM experience, India's role is striking with its second highest share both in terms of number of projects registered worldwide and in generation of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).

This paper provides several recommendations for strengthening the institutional frame work in India with respect to CDM as well as suggestions to policy makers for consideration while charting out future policies and programs addressing climate change mitigation and adaptation oriented towards better participation in climate change mitigation during the second commitment period of Kyoto Protocol.

Carbon emissions from gas flaring in the Nigerian oil and gas industry are both a national and international problem. Nigerian government policies to eliminate the problem 1960-2016 yielded little or no results. The Kyoto Protocol (KP) provides Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) as an international market-based mechanism to reducing global carbon emissions. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to analytically highlight the potentials of CDM in eliminating carbon emissions in the Nigerian oil and gas industry.

This paper reviewed the historical background of Kyoto protocol, Nigerian Government policies to eliminating gas flaring in its oil and gas industry 1960-2016 and CDM projects in the industry. The effectiveness of the policies and CDM projects towards ending this problem were descriptively analysed.

Government policies towards eliminating gas flaring with its attendant carbon emissions appeared not to be yielding the desired results. However, projects registered under CDM in the industry looks effective in ending the problem.

Therefore, the success recorded by CDM projects has the policy implication of encouraging Nigeria to engage on establishing more CDM projects that ostensibly proved effective in reducing CO2 emissions through gas flaring reductions in its oil and gas industry. Apparent effectiveness of studied CDM should provide a way forward for the country in eliminating gas flaring in its oil and gas industry which is also a global menace. Nigeria could achieve this by providing all needed facilitation to realising more CDM investments.

CDM as a policy has proved effective in eliminating gas flaring in the Nigerian oil and gas industry. The government should adopt this international policy to achieve more gas flaring reductions.

Social problems of respiratory diseases, water pollution and food shortage among others due to gas flaring are persisting in oil and gas producing areas as government policies failed to end the problem. CDM projects in the industry have proved effective in eliminating the problem, thus improving the social welfare of the people and ensuring sustainable development.

The paper analysed the effectiveness of Nigerian Government policies and an international market-based mechanism towards ending gas flaring in its oil and gas industry.

The purpose of this paper is to analyze the relationship between Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) information and a firm’s stock prices.

The present study is based on 193 CERs announcements by Indian firms over a 13-year period 2005–2017. The event study methodology is used to examine the impact of CERs announcements on a firm’s share prices.

The study suggests that the issuance of CERs did not produce any significant abnormal return. More specifically, the outcomes of event study shows that over a two-day event window from the event day to the day after the event (i.e. days 0 to 1), the mean and median of AARs are −0.25 and −0.34 percent, respectively. The abnormal returns on day 1 are not statistically significant as per the t-test. Moreover, the mean and median of abnormal returns after one day (−1) are negative, indicating that investors react negatively to CERs announcements. However, the mean and median of CAARs over both the two-day (i.e. days −1 to 0 and days 0 to +1) and three-day (i.e. days −1 to +1) event windows are positive, but not statistically significant based on the t-test.

The findings of the study are quite comprehensive, relatively used only market-based criteria of a firm’s financial performance, e.g., share price, at times, inhibits generalizing the results.

To the best of the author’s knowledge, the present study is a first of its kind to investigate the relationship between the CERs information and a firm’s stock prices.

This study aims to investigate the cross-sectional and time-series dynamics of realized Certified Emission Reduction (CER) credits issued and the role of investments for a seminal sample of China’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects specializing in the wind sector.

The study investigates the dynamics of realized CER credits issued and the role of investments using traditional cross-sectional and time-series regression analysis.

The study results find that the level of investment per megawatt (MW) of power generation is an important predictor for the expected number of realized CER credits issued in the cross-section of China’s wind CDM projects. Additionally, the study finds evidence of time trends and seasonality when examining the time series of realized monthly CER credits: CER credits issued are lower in the summer and higher in the winter.

The study results highlight the importance of financing CDM projects and suggest guidelines in which investors are able to better assess how much to invest based on the anticipated CER credits in the Project Design Document. Additionally, the results suggest opportunities for the CDM Executive Board surrounding the Project Design Document and the anticipated CER credits contained therein. The present study contributes to the literature on strategic tools for addressing climate change and offer insights that narrow the gap between empirical finance and sustainable business practice in the context of CDM projects.

The purpose of this paper is to suggest an approach to post‐Kyoto climate negotiations that could provide a way out of the apparent deadlock between developed and developing countries. This is an urgent issue as the world already appears to be close to a level of climate change that could be considered “dangerous”.

The paper explores the potential that control of short‐lived greenhouse gases such as methane, tropospheric ozone, and soot could have, in addition to steep cutbacks in industrialized nations, to both mitigate global warming and overcome political stalemate in the international climate negotiations.

Although rarely mentioned in climate discourse, reducing emissions of short‐lived greenhouse gases offers a cost‐effective way of actually reducing the radiative forcing in the atmosphere, while at the same time producing substantial subsidiary benefits such as improved urban air quality. The paper suggests leveraging this potential in the post‐Kyoto treaty in order to “buy time” to address the arguably more difficult problem of essentially eliminating fossil‐fuel related CO₂ emissions, which will ultimately be required to truly bring climate change under control. While high‐income countries work on steep cutbacks of all greenhouse gas emissions, middle‐income nations could make significant additional contributions by undertaking commitments to control only short‐lived greenhouse gases until they reached a threshold level of per‐capita GDP, at which point they would cap and begin reducing all greenhouse gas emissions.

This paper recognizes that political tradeoffs will have to be made in negotiating the next climate treaty, and offers a way of approaching these tradeoffs that could minimize resulting environmental damage.

The purpose of this paper is to examine potential demand side management (DSM) programs in terms of their impacts to the overall economy in Thailand.

A multi‐sector computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of Thailand has been developed to accomplish the objectives of this study. The potential DSM program considered refers to replacement of less efficient electrical appliances with their efficient counterparts in the household sector in Thailand.

The study finds that the economy‐wide impacts of the DSM program (e.g., economic welfare, GDP, international trade) depend on three key factors: the project economics of the DSM option or the ratio of unit cost of electricity savings to price of electricity (CPR); the implementation strategy of the DSM option; and scale or size of the DSM option. This paper shows that the welfare impacts of the DSM programs would improve along with the project economics of the DSM programs. If the DSM program is implemented under the CDM, the welfare impacts would increase along with the price for certified emission reductions units. On the other hand, the welfare impacts would increase up to the optimal size or scale of the program, but would start to deteriorate if the size is increased further.

The welfare function considered in this paper does not account for benefits of local air pollution reductions. The study provides crucial insights on designing DSM projects in Thailand to ensure that DSM programs are beneficial for the economy as a whole.

Analyses of DSM options under the CDM using CGE models are not available in the literature. This is the first paper in this area.