A Study of Incentive Instruments on Global Atmospheric Environmental Regimes

"Considering the need of increasing ""participation incentives"" for global environmental regimes, this paper aims to analyze the existing incentive instruments, focusing on the cases of global atmospheric environmental regimes. In order to achieve this purpose, the paper first categorizes three types of national incentives in participating environmental regimes, i.e.environmental, political and economic incentives. Then the paper examines four global atmospheric regimes, namely the long-ranged transboundary air pollution regime, the US-Canada air quality management regime, the ozone regime and the climate regime. It further clarifies the existence of international environmental monitoring programs, introduction of emission standard targets (rather than emission ceiling approach), introduction of economic mechanisms (such as Sulfur emission trading and Kyoto mechanism) and establishing funds (to developing countries) as ""Partiuipation incentive instruments"", and analyzed how they have played significant roles in increasing environmental and/or economic incentives for countries to participate in global atmospheric regimes.