Who has a conflict of interest in the HFC-23 case? (Newsletter #9)

In cases where substantial economist interest is at stake, such as in the upcoming discussions on the HFC-23 revision request, Board members face pressure under the current CDM rules. The 19 registered HFC-23 destruction projects are expected to generate about 478 million CERs by 2012 and more than one billion CERs by 2020. These projects …

Renewal of Ineos HFC-23 destruction project (Newsletter #9)

Within the context of the HFC-23 methodology revision request, it is important to note that the Board will also address the first request to renew the crediting period by a HFC-23 destruction project. The HFC-23 Decomposition Project in Ulsan, South Korea, operated by the Ineos Group (Project 003) has generated 1,4 Mio credits of at …

Perverse incentives of HFC-23 projects (Newsletter #9)

HFC-23 projects in the CDM have become the focus of media attention over their lack of environmental integrity in the past weeks[1]. During this upcoming meeting, the Board will finally discuss new evidence showing that the current CDM methodology creates perverse incentives for plant operators to artificially increase HCFC-22 production, from which HFC-23 is an …

CDM Watch Newsletter #9, July 2010

Dear friends,

The CDM Executive Board will hold its 55th meeting from 26-30 July 2010 in Bonn. As usual, CDM Watch takes the opportunity to read between the lines of the annotated draft agenda to bring some transparency to the decisions of the Executive Board.

New Sandbag Report on International Offsets and the EU 2009

SANDBAG has published its newest report on offsets in the EU: International Offsets and the EU 2009: an update on the usage of compliance offsets in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme – by Rob Elsworth and Bryony Worthington The report is based on a consolidated database of information about the use of certified emissions reductions …

Briefing Paper: HFC-23 Offsets in the Context of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme

European countries are the major market for carbon credits associated with HFC-23 (trifluoromethane) destruction projects under the UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The EU linking Directive allows Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) from the CDM to be traded in the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS). It claims that the “environmental integrity” of the ETS will be …

Press Release: CDM Panel Calls for Investigation over Carbon Market Scandal

A coalition of environmental NGOs today said that the UN CDM Executive Board must react on the CDM Panel’s recommendation for a thorough investigation to adequately address fundamental flaws in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) rules that incentivize production and issuance of phony carbon credits. The coalition is demanding strong and immediate action to halt the documented abuses in the UNFCCC carbon trading scheme.

Oeko-Institut Study: 2010 Rating of Designated Operational Entities

Commissioned by WWF, the Öko-Institut analysed, for the second time, to what degree DOEs (Designed Operational Entities) fulfill the requirements of the UNFCCC CDM Executive Board (EB). More than 900 projects have been evaluated for this analysis. The rating is based on a statistical evaluation of decisions by the EB on projects that were validated positively by a DOE and which are later either registered, rejected, reviewed or requested for correction by the EB.