CARBON MARKETS FOR LANDFILL GAS AND WASTE SECTOR PROJECTS: CURRENT STATUS AND POST-2012 OPPORTUNITIES

SUMMARY: As the Kyoto Protocol nears the end of its first phase in 2012, there is rampant speculation about the future of the carbon markets, climate change regulation and especially the CDM. In December 2007, the parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the US (which is not a signatory to the Protocol) signed on to The Bali Roadmap which called for worldwide agreement on an extension or a successor to the Kyoto Protocol by December 2009. The Bali Roadmap calls for this goal to be reached by the time of the annual meeting of the parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Copenhagen in December 2009. One of the most significant uncertainties is the role the US will play. In this paper, we summarize the current status of carbon projects, markets, and opportunities. 1