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Atmosphere 2012, 3(1), 229-245; doi:10.3390/atmos3010229

Article

Unveiling Assigned Amount Unit (AAU) Trades: Current Market Impacts and Prospects for the Future

Elizabeth Lokey Aldrich ^1,*  and Cassandra L. Koerner ²

¹ Sustainability Studies Department, The White Mountain School, 371 West Farm Road, Bethlehem, NH 03574, USA ² Energy Policy Institute, Boise State University, 1910 University Drive, Boise, ID 83725, USA

* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.

Received: 13 December 2011; in revised form: 30 January 2012 / Accepted: 27 February 2012 / Published: 7 March 2012

Download PDF Full-Text [265 KB, uploaded 7 March 2012 12:26 CET]

Abstract: The sale of assigned amount units (AAUs) from countries whose emissions have declined since their baseline year under the Kyoto Protocol has led critics to be skeptical of carbon markets due to the lack of actual emission reductions that occur as a result of these trades. This policy review describes the historical context of AAU trading, current market price and volumes, and environmental and economic impacts of the current AAU trading rules. Options for how to handle current, and prevent the creation of future, surplus AAUs are discussed.

Keywords: assigned amount unit; green investment scheme; hot air; international emissions trading; post-2012; Kyoto Protocol

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