SD-PAMs: What, Where, When and How?

This report examines what “sustainable development policies and measures” (SD-PAMs) could be, and how they could be implemented and fit into a post-2012 climate regime. This paper assumes that the option to implement SD-PAMs instead of quantified greenhouse gas emission commitments post-2012 is an option that would be likely to be only open to non-Annex I countries. There are several key, but unanswered, questions related to SD-PAMs. These include policy-related issues such as which countries could take on commitments to implement SD-PAMs (rather than quantified emission commitments)? Why would particular countries decide to take on such commitments? They also include questions related to how SD-PAMs could be implemented. For many, other options for possible post-2012 GHG mitigation actions, including by non-Annex I countries, have also been proposed. However, this paper focuses solely on SD-PAMs.