The future of Joint Implementation (JI) is uncertain. The mechanism will have to be revised for the next commitment period. Currently the vast majority of JI credits come from dubious projects in countries with large Assigned Amount Units (AAU) surpluses. In these countries JI can be used to ‘launder’ surplus AAUs. Parties will discuss the …
Read more “Joint Implementation – Why we are worried (Newsletter #19)”
Dear friends,
The CDM Executive Board will have its 67th meeting just before the 14-25 May UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany. In this newsletter we give an overview of the relevant carbon market issues that are on the agenda in Bonn. Of course our team will be there to join fellow ENGOs to advocate for environmental and social integrity.
Bonn, Germany, 7 May. The UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board will discuss this week whether to approve revised rules on coal power offsetting projects. NGOs are urging the Board to reject the revision because they do not address crucial technical flaws. The revisions also fail to address the severe harm new coal projects …
Read more “Press Release: New rules for coal offsetting projects still severely flawed”
The CDM Watch Discussion Forum is a place to exchange and debate positive and negative experiences with the CDM. The aim is to get an accurate picture of what’s really happening on the ground and draw on lessons learnt. Has the CDM achieved its goals? What changes do we need to create net benefits for …
A lot of water has passed under the Tabasará Bridge, site of historical protests in Panama. Barro Blanco is the latest dam envisaged for this historic river named for its Ngäbe indigenous chief in their struggle against the Spaniards. The Ngäbes and their Movement 10th of April have resisted until now and demand protection of their rights and resources. All concessions that were granted without their approval should be cancelled, including for the contentious Barro Blanco hydro-electric project.
It is time to recognise that the CDM cannot ensure the environmental integrity of its waste sector projects, nor eliminate the social harm that they cause. Rather than continuing to support projects with negative social and environmental outcomes, the CDM should cease issuing CERs to solid waste disposal projects, including incinerators and landfills.
For new CDM projects registered after 2012, the EU has decided that it will only buy carbon credits if projects are located in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Therefore, this year sees a surge in projects applying for carbon credits particularly from Brazil, India, and China, because starting in 2013, these emerging countries will no longer be able to register new projects able to sell credits to the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (the largest carbon market in the world).
At the climate negotiations in Durban last November, countries agreed to establish a new market based mechanism and to come up with a framework that new bilateral or regional market mechanisms would have to comply with. Now they are working hard on coming up with rules and governance systems for these new market based systems. At the same time, the two largest market based mechanisms, the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the CDM are on the brink of collapse.
The CDM Executive Board (Board) supervises the CDM and consists of 10 members and 10 alternates. Board members have considerable power and influence. Together with support staff from the UNFCCC Secretariat, they meet approximately six times a year to decide on new policies and rules for project types, to review and register new projects, and approve credit issuance. It is therefore important to watch their actions and follow their meetings carefully because many important decisions are made.
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