Disagreement over the use of offsets may be driven by genuine worries among developing
countries that developed countries are not taking on sufficiently deep emission reduction
commitments. In light of the relatively low emission cuts proposed by the United States and some
other developed countries, this is a legitimate concern. In addition, major developing emitters
may be concerned that selling today’s emission credits generated from comparatively cheap
mitigation action may leave them facing higher marginal cost in meeting commitments they may
have to take on themselves post-2020. (Observers have called this the ‘low hanging fruit’
problem’ of mitigation.) Yet, it may be in the interest of many developing countries, and LDCs in
particular, to seek a compromise that would allow for a broader use of offsets in exchange for
higher than expected developed country commitments – a trade-off that Indonesia and Mexico, for instance, have suggested. Such a compromise might help promote core interest of LDCs,
namely reducing future climate change impacts, preserving scarce international funds for
adaptation expenses, and attracting investment for NAMAs.