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In this paper, Professor Lemoine investigates the political implications and significance of the Kyoto Protocol, from the viewpoint of developing countries. In particular, she assesses the Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM), a special instrument under the Kyoto convention that includes many countries not involved in binding greenhouse gases emission caps. She proceeds in her analysis by asking three crucial questions: (I) who benefits from the CDM mechanism and the position of emergent states, (II) how to improve the effectiveness of sustainable development inputs and (III) whether the CDM fosters, or hinders, technological transfer. She then concludes by evaluating the positions of developing countries in the COP21 Agreement and imagining the future. As a matter of general fact, the CDM mechanism is a very powerful tool; the general principle is rewarding states and non-state actors for saving greenhouse gases emission with carbon pricing. The clean development mechanism also enables (I) developed countries to invest in low-carbon projects in developing countries, (II) to reduce emissions in those territories and (III) to help industrialized States respect their own emissions reduction commitments. Beside the most technical aspects, what it is worth stressing here is that some developing countries (such as Bolivia and Venezuela) question the environmental effectiveness of the CDM itself since it does not reduce emissions but rather simply offsets the increase in emissions elsewhere. However, for one thing, the CDM has helped in assisting developing countries to achieve sustainable development, for the other it has enabled Annex I countries able to achieve their emission reduction targets cost-effectively. Besides, what the Author stresses is that the CDM process can also be used by private firms. By and large, the overall evaluation has been positive. Despite this, the Author stresses some defects and pitfalls in the CDM capacity to effectively achieve its tasks. For example, the CDM mechanism must improve the quality and quantity of its emissions reduction. Indeed, it is undeniable that the repartition of CDM projects is geographically unequal between regions of the world and among States (e.g., African States have only 2.40 percent of total projects). For example, this occurs in the main for the obvious reason that investors see emergent States as more secure than less economically dynamic States, also in terms of legal and infrastructural capacity.
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