CDM Watch Newsletter #12, February 2011

Dear friends,

A new set of CDM Executive Board members is meeting this week in Bonn, Germany for the first time this year. As usual, CDM Watch is using the opportunity to bring some transparency to key issues on the Board´s agenda and to highlight other burning CDM issues that have been reported to us.

Carbon Capture And Storage In The CDM – Or How To Squeeze More Oil Out Of The Ground With Carbon Credits

The UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun added a new dimension to the CDM: Carbon capture and storage technologies in geological formations shall now be allowed to qualify under the CDM. This decision has been hailed as a victory by oil companies across the world, which could not believe their luck. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) …

Carbon Capture and Storage in the CDM – Or how to squeeze more Oil out of the Ground with Carbon Credit (Newsletter #12)

The UN Climate Change Conference in Cancun added a new dimension to the CDM: Carbon capture and storage technologies in geological formations shall now be allowed to qualify under the CDM. This decision has been hailed as a victory by oil companies across the world, which could not believe their luck. Enhanced Oil Recovery (EOR) …

Civil Society Workshops in Mexico and El Salvador (Newsletter #12)

In order to discuss opportunities for enhancing civil society involvement in the CDM, CDM Watch is organizing two workshops in Central America this February: 19 February 2011: 9.30 – 18.00, Centro de Derechos Humanos Miguel Agustin Pro Juarez, Mexico City 26-27 February 2011: Regional workshop in the Eco Centro Animas, El Salvador To register please …

New Appeals Procedure against DOEs – Open to Civil Society (Newsletter #12)

The CDM offers a couple of opportunities for public participation in the CDM. The most important one is the possibility to submit comments during the 30-day public commenting period which starts as soon as a new CDM project is submitted to the UNFCCC as part of the validation process. However, in the past there was …

Barro Blanco Hydropower Project in Panama violates CDM Rules (Newsletter #12)

Guest article by Osvaldo Jordan, Alianza para la Conservacion y el Desarrollo (ACD) Oscar Sogandares, Asociacion Ambientalista de Chiriqui (ASAMCHI) Miguel Arjona, April 10 Movement for the Defense of the Tabasará River (M-10) The Barro Blanco project (3237) is a 28.84 MW hydroelectric power plant in the district of Tolé, within the province of Chiriquí, …

Aguan Biogas Project linked to serious Human Rights Violations in Honduras (Newsletter #12)

One of the CDM projects currently seeking registration is the “Aguan biogas recovery from Palm Oil Mill Effluent ponds and biogas utilisation” (Project 3197).  The company behind the project, Grupo Dinant subsidiary Exportadora del Atlantico, is implicated in assassinations and other serious human rights abuses in Honduras and there are grave concerns that additional funding …

New Study on Grid Emission Factors (Newsletter #12)

A new study commissioned by CDM Watch and published today (15 February) reveals that electricity-related projects implemented in China and India under the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are over-credited due to inflated grid emissions factors. This over-crediting is estimated at 11 million credits by the end of 2012, about 2.5% of total CER volume …

Clarity regarding HFC-23 issuance for current Crediting Periods on the Horizon (Newsletter #12)

In addition to the evidence that was filed in March 2010 related to the gaming of the CDM by unscrupulous plant operators, CDM Watch has submitted a request to clarify current crediting rules for HFC-23 abatement projects. This new submission AM_CLA_0191 seeks to clarify how the waste generation rate should be calculated for HCFC-22 production …