Since the unanimous adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) in 1997, the negotiation of policy responses to climate change has become an area of major research. This authoritative volume sets out the main debates and processes of joint implementation--bilateral or multilateral investments in greenhouse gas emission reduction or sequestration--and explores the issues involved in constructing an appropriate institutional framework.It examines the key economic, environmental, social and ethical impacts, and assesses the operational design of the flexibility mechanisms of joint implementation, including 'emissions trading'. It provides detailed case studies of energy sector investment in eastern European host countries with donor countries considered in northern Europe. This book will have a major impact on the contemporary debates on climate policy in the wake of the Kyoto Protocol.