CDM EB 70 Press Highlights - Executive Board adopts tool to promote sustainable development benefits

CDM EB 70 Press Highlights: Executive Board adopts tool to promote sustainable development benefits

(Doha, 23 November 2012) – Executive Board adopts tool to promote sustainable development benefits In response to a request from Kyoto Protocol countries, the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has approved a tool that project participants can use to describe the sustainable development co-benefits of their projects.

In order to be registered, a CDM project must produce real emission reductions and it must assist the host country in achieving its sustainable development goals. Host countries are responsible for attesting to the latter requirement in a letter of approval. What the new tool provides is a means for project participants to voluntarily describe the co-benefits of their projects against various criteria.

“Project participants now have a way to showcase the benefits of their projects,” said Board Chair Maosheng Duan. “We expect this to provide incentives for enhancing the sustainable development benefits of projects, and in the process give project participants a way to increase the value of the credits that they produce, in the eyes of buyers.”

Also at its 70th meeting, the Board provisionally approved its business and management plan for 2013-2014, which focuses on providing simplicity and predictability in the operation of the CDM and ensuring the integrity of certified emission reductions (CERs); ensuring the CDM makes a growing contribution to the sustainable development of all host countries; further expanding the geographic reach of the CDM; and promoting the use and safeguarding the reputation of the CDM as a mechanism for low carbon development.

The Board agreed on a five percent budget reduction, taking into account the recent decline in CER prices and the present uncertainty in the level and timing of future demand for the credits. The Board will examine the document again at its next meeting, in January.

“The Board must implement the CDM within the same market environment that all other market stakeholders must operate,” said Mr. Duan. “That said, we also know that prices go up and they go down. The approach of the Board is to plan wisely, continue to improve and position the mechanism, and make sure the mechanism remains an effective tool that countries can use to mitigate climate change and contribute to sustainable development.”

The Board’s 70th meeting concluded just days before the start of the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Doha, where Parties are expected to take important decisions on the next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol and make progress on a broader climate change agreement to take effect in 2020.

“The year 2012 was a year of accomplishment - issuance of the one billionth CER and registration of the 5000th project. It was also a year of challenge due to diminished demand for CERs,” said Mr. Duan. “The Board considers it crucial that, in addition to providing clarity on ambitious emission targets, Parties send a clear signal on the value of the CDM within the context of future international action on climate change.”

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About the CDM
The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2. CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their targets under the Protocol. The CDM assists countries in achieving sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission targets.