Options for utilizing the CDM for global emission reductions

So far, developing countries do not contribute to global emissions reductions in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol: while they participate in the CDM, the reductions achieved through the mechanism are used for offsetting emissions in industrialized countries, thus resulting in a zero-sum game for the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) states in its Fourth Assessment Report that the industrialized countries need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40% of 1990 levels until 2020, in order to reach an emissions path consistent with the 2°C goal.