CDM Registry

Institutional background

The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol on its first session, held at Montreal from 28 November to 10 December 2005, established that the CDM Executive Board shall develop and maintain the CDM registry according to the requirements set out in Appendix D to the report (FCCC/KP/CMP/2005/8/Add.1).

These requirements specify that the CDM registry is to be in the form of a standardized electronic database that ensures the accurate accounting of the issuance, holding and acquisition of CERs. In order to do so, Appendix D to Decision 3/CMP.1 provides guidance on the different account types to be available in the CDM registry, provisions for unique serial numbers, conditions for the forwarding of CERs and publicly available information about the operation of the CDM registry.

This document also establishes that

The Executive Board shall establish and maintain a CDM registry to ensure the accurate accounting of the issuance, holding, transfer and acquisition of CERs by Parties not included in Annex I.

The Executive Board shall identify a registry administrator to maintain the registry under its authority.

(3/CMP.1, Annex, Appendix D, paragraph 1). The Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism designated the UNFCCC Secretariat as the CDM registry administrator at its thirteenth meeting.

The Annual report (2003–2004) of the Executive Board of the clean development mechanism to the Conference of the Parties also states that the Board agreed that the secretariat is to be the CDM registry administrator with responsibility, under the authority of the Board, for implementing and operating the CDM registry (CP/2004/2/ paragraph 59).

Publicly available information can be found on the issuance of CERs section.

Information about the amount of CERs allocated to the Adaptation Fund account can be found here

The Executive Board provided further guidance for the work of the CDM registry at its subsequent meetings. The reports of each meeting containing the corresponding decisions can be found on the EB section .

CDM Registry News - Operational

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  • 11 May 2012 — Implementation of electronic F-CDM-MOC, version 02.1

    Registration: Up until 30 September 2012, entities may choose to submit either version 01.4 or version 02.1 of the F-CDM-MOC through their validating DOE according to the selected track for submitting a request for registration.

    Post-registration changes: Effective 27 July 2012, the MoC electronic interface for post registration changes will be updated to reflect version 02.1 of the F-CDM-MOC. Project participants should note that effective 27 July 2012, any post-registration changes should be requested by using only version 02.1 of the F-CDM-MOC as a result of the updated electronic interface. Up until the switch between F-CDM-MOC versions, version 01.4 should be scanned and submitted as a pdf file to the request for changes, however, the secretariat will also accept the use of the new 02.1 F-CDM-MOC.

    To avoid discrepancies between the version of the electronic interface and the submitted pdf file, project participants are encouraged to print the F-CDM-MOC for signature from the interface. In F-CDM-MOC, Section 3: Statement of Agreement, the fields "Full name of authorized signatory", "Signature" and "Date" as well as the fields "Signature" and "Date" elsewhere in any of the MOC forms should be completed by hand after the respective form is printed from the interface prior to uploading a scanned version of the fully completed form.

  • 9 May 2012 — Temporary unavailability of CDM Registry during transition to single Union Registry

    Due to the imminent transition of EU member state registries to a single common emissions registry the CDM Registry will be unavailable to process forwarding transactions designated to EU national registries from 3 to 19 June 2012. Focal points are therefore encouraged to submit any CER forwarding requests to accounts with affected national registries to arrive at the secretariat by 28 May 2012 in order to ensure their completion prior to suspension of EU registry operations on 3 June 2012.

    *Please note that requests for forwarding of CERs to non-EU registry accounts will not be affected by the above-mentioned closure period and will continue to be processed in the normal manner.

  • 05 April 2012 — F-CDM-MOC, version 02.1: main changes in brief

    Following the decision of the Executive Board to adopt the “Clean Development Mechanism Project Cycle Procedure” at its 65th meeting in Bonn, project participants are required to use the F-CDM-MOC, version 02.1, when submitting a new MOC statement. The main changes of the new form to be effective 1 May 2012 are:

    • 1. The introduction of a new section in the F-CDM-MOC with regard to a focal point entity’s change in name or legal status for post-registration submissons only.
    • 1.1. Should the focal point entity changing its name or legal status also be a project participant, a new F-CDM-MOC should be submitted together with a DNA confirmation; the Annex 2 is no longer a requirement in such cases.
    • 1.2. Should the focal point entity changing its name or legal status also be a project participant, and the same signatories apply for the entity in its role as focal point and as a project participant, there is no requirement to submit a separate Annex 2 to update the contact details of the project participant.
    • 2. As per CDM Project Cycle Procedure, paragraph 169, on first time nomination of a focal point entity, the focal point(s) for scope (b) shall provide written evidence of:
    • (a) The new focal point’s corporate identity, and
    • (b) The personal identity and employment status of the new focal point’s authorized signatory(ies), including their specimen signature(s).
      For detailed instructions on the above, please refer to the standard F-CDM-MOC template on the Registry website.

  • 19 March 2012 — Introducing the new F-CDM-MOC

    In conjunction with the adoption of new procedures at EB65, the secretariat has published related forms including the new F-CDM-MOC (version 02.1) on the CDM website which is shown together with the current MoC form (version 01.4) at the following link: http://cdm.unfccc.int/Reference/PDDs_Forms/index.html#reg

    Due to the fact that version 02.1 of the F-CDM-MOC only becomes effective on 1 May 2012, project participants are encouraged to continue to use version 01.4 of the MoC form until that date. It is anticipated that the new MoC statement will be available electronically as of 1 May 2012, however, users are kindly requested to refer to the CDM Registry website for updates on progress in this regard. Should there be an extended delay in implementing the electronic form, interim arrangements will be put in place to allow for an extended use of the old MoC form.

  • 18 Jan 12 —Validity period for submitted CER forwarding requests

    CER forwarding requests submitted electronically which are not supported by a signed F-CDM-FORWCERS form received at the secretariat within 90 days of the original submission will be automatically rejected unless CDM Registry is requested by focal point entities to extend the validity period for a justified reason.

  • 19 Dec 11 —CER issuance 23/12/2011

    Project participants are kindly informed that CERs issued on 23 December 2011 will be available for distribution on 27 December 2011 due to the Christmas holiday period.

  • 06 Dec 11 —CER issuance 30/12/2011

    Project participants are kindly informed that CERs issued on 30 December 2011 will be available for distribution on 3 January 2012 due to the Christmas holiday period.

  • 18 Nov 11 — Deadline to submit CER forwarding requests for 2011 processing

    Should project participants wish to ensure completion of requests to forward CERs by 31 December 2011, they are kindly requested to submit signed F-CDM-FORWCERS forms to arrive at the secretariat no later than 14 December 2011 close of business.

  • 07 Nov 11 — MOC pre-screening step

    Effective 7 November 2011 the pre-screening step on the MOC electronic interface will be removed. Focal point entities should continue to submit requests for changes to the MOC in the usual manner which will be addressed by the CDM Registry team as promptly as possible.

  • 28 Oct 11 — Confidential documentation on the CDM website

    The secretariat has removed documentation related to Modalities of Communication containing confidential information from the CDM website which will be replaced with digitized documentation of a restricted nature. While this exercise may take up to several months, project participants and focal points are kindly requested to ensure accurate maintenance of their own records for reference purposes until all digital documentation is available and published in a restricted format on the CDM website.

  • 21 Oct 11 — Updated information for changes to a CDM Registry holding account

    Please note updated requirements for effecting changes to holding accounts in the section 'How do I request changes to a CDM registry holding account'

  • 12 Oct 11 — CDM Registry resumes operations

    Please be informed that the CDM Registry has resumed operations and that CER issuance and CER forwarding transactions from the pending account are being processed as per normal procedure.

  • 11 Oct 11 — Important Announcement

    An attempt was made from outside the UNFCCC secretariat to execute an unauthorised transfer of certified emission reductions (CERs) from the CDM registry. Internal security procedures prevented the transfer from being executed, and no CERs were transferred. The owners of the accounts involved have been notified by the secretariat. The secretariat is investigating the incident to ensure continuous safe operation of the registry.

  • 7 Oct 11 — Unavailability of the CDM Registry

    Due to scheduled maintenance of the International Transaction Log the CDM Registry will be unavailable to process transactions or issuance/account related matters from 4-10 November 2011. We kindly request the understanding of project participants and account representatives during this outage period which is aimed to improve service requirements and benefit users of the CDM Registry.

  • 25 Jul 11 — Disclaimer notification - F-CDM-MOC form

    Project participants are invited to take note of a disclaimer notification which has been included on the F-CDM-MOC form, Annex 2, Section 4. As per CDM procedures this editorial change has been published on the CDM public website and is effective 25 July 2011. A grace period is applicable to this change whereby F-CDM-MOC forms will be accepted without inclusion of the disclaimer notification if submitted prior to the anticipated approval of the Executive Board at its sixty-third meeting, due to take place from 25-29 September 2011.

  • 12 Jul 11 — Validation of documents - 'Change/Update of contact details'

    Documentation submitted to support requests for changes to contact details of project participants/focal point entities is required to be dated within 24 months of the date of submission of the documents to the secretariat; alternatively, a notarized certificate confirming the validity of any document dated older than 24 months at time of submission to the secretariat will be accepted.

  • 16 May 11 — Notice to CDM project participants and stakeholders

    The secretariat will not execute any registration and issuance process-related actions during the period 18-20 May 2011 due to a planned capacity-building exercise involving the programme in the UNFCCC secretariat that supports the Kyoto Protocol mechanisms.

  • 17 Mar 11 — Change the name of a project participant or focal point Project participants

    Annex 2, Sections 1 & 2 only of the F-CDM-MOC form together with either:
    1. A validating letter from the authorizing DNA. Such letter should clearly state that the name of the entity has changed, include the former name and new name of the entity, and confirm that the original LOA remains valid after the change of name or legal status of the registered project participant; or
    2. A new LOA to include both the former name and the new name of the project entity, which is important for verification purposes, would also be accepted.

  • Project participants (nominated as focal point entities)

    A new F-CDM-MOC form and Annex 2, Sections 1 and 2, together with either:
    1. A validating letter from the authorizing DNA. Such letter should clearly state that the name of the entity has changed, include the former name and new name of the entity, and confirm that the original LOA remains valid after the change of name or legal status of the registered project participant; or
    2. A new LOA to include both the former name and the new name of the project entity, which is important for verification purposes, would also be accepted. Change the name of a project participant or focal point entity

  • 22 Feb 11 — Editorial change to F-CDM-MOC form

    As only minor editorial changes were included in the updated F-CDM-MOC form on 22/2/2011 (version 01.3), project participants may continue to utilize the previous version (01.2) if the form is already in circulation for signature purposes; however, any future submission should reflect the updated version. Forms - Registration/Validation

  • 09 Feb 11 — Important announcement

    Due to the recent closure of EU national registries for security reasons, the CDM Registry kindly requests the understanding of project participants for the undue delay in processing CER forwarding transactions. As soon as the national registries concerned are available the requested action will be taken as soon as possible.

  • 07 Dec 09 — Electronic interface update

    Updates to the electronic interface designed to facilitate requests for changes to MOC statements form focal point entities were introduced on 30 November 2009. The changes and improvements include a new ‘action-based’ interface where focal point entities are invited to use the new functions available which, amongst others, provide for the possibility to upload additional documents, including Letters of Approval (LoAs), via the online interface.

    The secretariat continues to test and modify new features which will lead into the next phase of development expected in the first half of 2010.

  • 04 Sep 09 — Electronic interface for requesting changes to the MOC, addition/withdrawal of project participants or updating contact details

    Following the guidance provided in the Procedures for Modalities of Communication between Project Participants and the Executive Board adopted at EB45, the secretariat is pleased to announce that a pilot interface was deployed on 12 August 2009 (version 1) as a first step towards a full online and paperless process.

    Authorised signatories of project participants and focal point entities that wish to request changes to existing Modalities of Communication, addition/withdrawal of project participants or updating contact details should use the electronic F-CDM-MOC form available on the link provided in the registration and issuance emails.

    It is no longer necessary to submit the hard copy of the MOC form or any of its annexes, provided the scanned documents have been duly signed and uploaded through this interface. Please note, however, that these documents should be available upon request should the secretariat deem it necessary to verify the originals.

    For security reasons, all communication must be channelled via the authorised signatory/ies of the focal point entity and each request made through the electronic interface should be made using the name and email address that has been officially registered in the modalities of communication.

CDM Registry News - Regulatory

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  • 20 June 2012 — Activation of single Union registry for EU member States

  • 24 Oct 08 — CDM registry starts live operations with EU registries

    The CDM registry is pleased to announce that, as a result of the successful connection of EU registries and CITL to the ITL, our live operations with EU registries have officially started on Wednesday 22 October. As from that date the CDM registry has been able to forward CERs held in temporary holding accounts to their associated EU registries for all cases where the national registry ID was made available by account representatives and where the receiving national registry confirmed their readiness to receive them.

    Entities responsible for instructing on forwarding of CERs from the Pending account of the CDM registry to acquiring holding accounts of project participants authorised by an EU country, as stated in the modalities of communication, are encouraged to check whether the corresponding EU national registry is available to receive CERs from the CDM registry and to ensure that the receiving account corresponds to an account within that national registry.

    Account representatives of temporary holding accounts that are still expecting to receive CERs in the corresponding national registry are requested to ensure that the national registry account ID has been instructed through the CDM registry online interface (user name and password needed).

  • 16 Oct 08 — Successful connection of the CITL and EU national registries to the ITL

    The UN Climate Change secretariat announced on Tuesday 14 October 2008 that it is on schedule to complete the live connection of the UNFCCC International Transaction Log (ITL) with the European Union (EU) Community Independent Transaction Log (CITL) and 26 European Union greenhouse gas emissions trading system (EU ETS) registries. As a result of this, the CDM registry and other Non-EU registries have been switched back to "Operating" mode as from today Thursday 16 October. The CDM registry is therefore now fully operational and able to resume forwarding of CERs as usual.

    Please note, however, that the forwarding of CERs from Temporary Holding Accounts (THAs) to the associated EU registries will not take place until all the preparatory work has been completed in coordination with the receiving registries. The exact date when all these CERs will be sent to EU registries will be advised on this page in the next few days.

  • 01 Oct 08 — Connection of the CITL and EU registries to the ITL

    The European Commission (EC), Member States and the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are currently working on the last preparatory phases of setting up a live connection between the CITL, the UNFCCC International Transaction Log (ITL) and Member State registries. The final connection process between the ITL and CITL will start on 6 October at 8:00 am CEST and is expected to take at least 10 calendar days (see here).

    Please note that, as a result of this process, the CDM registry will not be available for forwarding transactions during that time starting on October 7 2008. Although issuance of CERs will still be conducted as usual, ensuing forwarding requests will not be processed until the connection process is finalised.

    Once this connection process has been successfully completed, the CDM registry intends to forward all CER units currently held in temporary holding accounts to the national registries they are associated with. All CERs contained in a temporary holding account will be forwarded to the receiving account in the national registry in a single transaction. Specific instructions in this regard are being provided to account representatives via email.

    For further information about the announcement mentioned above, please refer to the following links: