The latest two climate summits - in Copenhagen in 2009 and Cancún in 2010 - have left critical questions unanswered: it remains unclear how to fund pledged climate finance commitments to developing countries, and there still is no effective follow-up regime for the Kyoto Protocol.

"Future Prospects for Climate Finance and the Carbon Market: A Legal Perspective" was the topic of a conference which was chaired by Michael Mehling, President of Ecologic Institute, Washington DC. Organized by the legal publisher Lexxion, the conference took place on 26 June 2011 at King's College in London.

Legal practitioners, academics and stakeholders from the public and private sectors had the chance to learn about the latest developments regarding climate finance, e.g., the governance and legitimacy of the Green Climate Fund, as well as perspectives on carbon trading after 2012. A special focus was placed on the Clean Development Mechanism and the European Union emissions trading system. The conference ended with a moderated panel discussion about possible pathways for a post-2012 carbon market.

Keynote speakers and panelists included Martin Hession, Chair of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism and senior climate negotiator at the United Kingdom Department of Energy and Climate Change; James Cameron, Chairman of Climate Change Capital Ltd.; Alexander Sarac, General Counsel of EcoSecurities Group Plc; and Karl Upston-Hooper, General Counsel of GreenStream Network Ltd.