Benefitting from Carbon Markets? German Participation in CDM and JI during the first Kyoto Commitment Period

The flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol, namely the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI), have been very successful in generating emission reduction credits at large scale and low costs. In this paper we investigate to what extent German stakeholders have been involved in the flexible mechanisms and whether or not they have benefitted from the scheme. To answer this question, we look into German investments in the two mechanisms and how credits have been used to comply with obligations under the EU ETS. Furthermore, we investigate the role of German consultancies, auditors, financial market players and technology providers.
This report was written in collaboration with the Wuppertal Institute