Joint Implementation

Joint Implementation (JI) is one of three <a href="/facts/Flexibility_mechanisms/q9f0sjGC">flexibility mechanisms</a> set out in the <a href="/facts/Kyoto_Protocol/88twzpDf">Kyoto Protocol</a> to help countries with binding <a href="/facts/Greenhouse_gas_emissions/Cu9nXPHE">greenhouse gas emissions</a> targets (the <a href="/facts/United_Nations_Framework_Convention_on_Climate_Change/Tg7f18g3">Annex I</a> countries) meet their treaty obligations. Under Article 6, any Annex I country can invest in a project to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in any other Annex I country (referred to as a "Joint Implementation Project") as an alternative to reducing emissions domestically. In this way countries can lower the costs of complying with their <a href="/facts/Kyoto_Protocol/88twzpDf">Kyoto</a> targets by investing in projects where reducing emissions may be cheaper and applying the resulting <a href="/facts/Emission_Reduction_Unit/8qTzI4cy">Emission Reduction Units</a> (ERUs) towards their commitment goal.
A JI project might involve, for example, replacing a coal-fired power plant with a more efficient <a href="/facts/Combined_heat_and_power/nuSxEoqP">combined heat and power</a> plant. Most JI projects are expected to take place in the economies in transition (the EIT Parties) noted in Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol. Currently Russia and Ukraine are slated to host the greatest number of JI projects.
Unlike the case of the <a href="/facts/Clean_Development_Mechanism/mbhqjec1">Clean Development Mechanism</a>, the JI has caused less concern of spurious emission reductions, as the JI project, in contrast to the CDM project, takes place in a country which has a commitment to reduce emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
The process of receiving credit for JI projects is somewhat complex. Emission reduction projects are awarded credits called <a href="/facts/Emission_Reduction_Unit/8qTzI4cy">Emission Reduction Units</a> (ERUs), which represents an emission reduction equivalent to one tonne of CO2 equivalent. The ERUs come from the host country's pool of assigned emissions credits, known as <a href="/facts/Assigned_Amount_Units/dszyotvj">Assigned Amount Units</a>, or AAUs. Each Annex I party has a predetermined amount of AAUs, calculated on the basis of its 1990 greenhouse gas emission levels. By requiring JI credits to come from a host country's pool of AAUs, the Kyoto Protocol ensures that the total amount of emissions credits among Annex I parties does not change for the duration of the Kyoto Protocol's first commitment period.

Joint Implementation open-in-new

Joint Implementation