What Is Next after the Kyoto Protocol?: Assessment of Options for International Climate Policy Post 2012 »

Niklas Hohne (1970) studied physics at the RWTH Aachen, Germany and at INSA Lyon, France, specialising in solid-state physics with an emphasis on renewable energy. He received his PhD degree from the Copernicus Institute, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands, writing his dissertation on climate policy in 2005. This book is a revised and updated version of his thesis, including the outcomes of the Montreal discussions of the UNFCCC in December 2005. Hohne has worked as a consultant and program officer at the secretariat of the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) and as a consultant at the UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme). He now works for ECOFYS, Germany, as consultant in the area of policy studies related to greenhouse gas emissions and international climate negotiations. Hohne is the lead author of the chapter "Policies, Instruments and Co-operative Arrangements" in the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

Negotiations on climate change are entering a new phase now that the discussions after the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol have started. This book gives a comprehensive survey of present issues and proposals, as well as an overview of future options, in a quantitative and qualitative manner. These options are followed by an assessment, plus fresh proposals for a future international climate regime after 2012.

What is Next after the Kyoto Protocol? provides an ideal reference to understand the current status of the climate negotiations. The book is timely and leaves the reader well-informed. It prepares and updates the reader to take part in the climate change discussions or to assess these, based on academic findings and analysis. The book can be read both in-depth as well as with a bird’s eye view, since it is well-structured and includes a summary and introduction.