Global Year-End Snapshot of the Clean Development Mechanism

A year-end review of the protocol's Clean Development Mechanism shows that more than 4,200 projects are up and running, or in various phases of the pipeline, up from 60 in the CDM's first year, 2004.

Most numerous are medium and small-scale hydroelectric projects, followed by projects that generate biomass energy, wind power and electricity from industrial waste heat.

The process is now stimulating interest in a wider range of renewable energy projects, including solar and geothermal power and one 250 megawatt tidal project in South Korea.

This resident of Kuyasa low-cost urban housing energy upgrade project in Cape Town; South Africa is a solar installer. She is seen here inserting an evacuated tube into the water tank. (Photo by Nic Bothma won 1st Place in the CDM 2008 Photo Contest)

The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries flexibility in how they meet their targets, which amount to an average 5.2 percent reduction in emissions below 1990 levels by the end of 2012.

To be considered for registration, a project must be approved by the national authority in the country where it will be built. Then a project must qualify through a rigorous, public registration and issuance process designed to ensure real, measurable and verifiable emission reductions over and above what would have occurred without the project. The mechanism is overseen by the CDM Executive Board, which is answerable to the countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

One novel project is emerging from the developing West African country of Niger where an estimated 60 percent of the national onion crop can be lost, leading to methane emissions as the vegetables rot. The idea is to use solar dryers and other systems to preserve the onions so they do not rot in storage or on the way to market.

"Some 3,000 tonnes of onions, produced by small farmers can be lost annually, says Lars Appelquist of UNEP's Risoe Centre in Denmark, which has compiled the end of year snapshot.

"Support under the CDM raises the prospect of not only cutting greenhouse gas emissions but more than doubling incomes of onions farmers by boosting exports by cutting post harvest losses. It is a rather unusual but small example of the co-benefits arising from so many CDM projects," said Appelquist, who has been working with the Niger onion farmers to access the CDM.

The CDM snapshot covers the years from 2004 up to November 2008 at the global, regional and national scales.

Brazil, China, India and Mexico continue to access the greatest share of the projects with a total of 3,218, of which 1,557 are for China and 1,135 for India.

But regions and countries once on the periphery of such schemes are beginning to access the environmental, economic and development benefits, many for the first time.

If the numbers for China and India are excluded, the Asia and Pacific region now has close to 550 projects, up from five in 2004.

If the numbers for Brazil and Mexico are removed from the evaluation for Latin America and the Caribbean, totals there stand at nearly 290, up from 19 four years ago.

UNEP Executive Director Achim Steiner said, "The CDM and the carbon markets as a whole are one of the great success stories of international cooperative action on climate change. The challenge now is to streamline it and overcome some of the hurdles that are keeping back projects in areas such as the building sector and forestry."

"By 2012 we estimate that over 8,000 CDM projects may be up and running or in the pipeline, generating financial flows from North to South of well over $30 billion," said Steiner.

This amount is based on the Clean Development Mechanism generating an estimated 1.6 billion certified emission reduction carbon credits worth $20 each.

"In doing so, the CDM is not only emerging as one key and creative instrument for combating climate change but an important stimulus package to developing country economies," said Steiner.

Maryam Niamir-Fuller, director of the UNEP's Global Environment Facility Division, says action is underway to boost the number of projects under the CDM that involve afforestation and reforestation. Forests absorb carbon dioxide as they grow. The most desireable projects will capture not only carbon but other benefits such as improvements for biodiversity, soils and adaptation to climate change.

At last week's UN climate conference in Poznan, Poland, UNEP announced a project aimed at streamlining the methodology for assessing the carbon of such forest projects. "This could be the key to unlocking the potential of the CDM to help re-carbonize degraded ecosystems," said Niamir-Fuller.

To manifest this vision UNEP is partnering with the University of Michigan, the University of Colorado, World Soil Information and the global conservation organization WWF.

Some Regional and National Highlights of the CDM Snapshot

Africa

In 2004, only two countries across the continent were accessing the Clean Development Mechanism - Morocco and South Africa. In 2008, a wide range of African countries have projects up and running or in the pipeline. Most are renewable energy projects.

The country with the largest number of projects is South Africa with 29 registered or in the pipeline, followed by Egypt with 12 and Morroco with nine.

Nigeria is likely to generate the greatest financial flows from just four projects worth, if all are approved, some $108 million annually under the $20 assumption; followed by South Africa at some $97 million and Egypt at over $60 million.

Middle East

The Middle East had zero projects in 2004 and only one in 2005. The year end snapshot indicates that a total of 54 are either registered or in the pipeline with the United Arab Emirates emerging with 13 from zero projects in 2007.

At 33, Israel has the highest number registered or in the pipeline, worth $72 million a year, followed by Qatar with one registered project potentially worth $50 million annually.

Eastern Europe and Central Asia

At 42, the 11 countries in this group currently have the lowest number of CDM projects registered or in the pipeline, worth in total just over $80 million.

Armenia tops the list with eight projects followed by Cyprus and Uzbekistan with seven and Georgia with six. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan have one projecteach.

Latin America and the Caribbean

Some 814 CDM projects are registered or in the pipeline with the figures dominated by Brazil, close to 330 projects followed by Mexico with close to 200.

Chile had just five projects in 2004 but today has more than 60 registered or in the pipeline. Colombia had none four years ago and now has 36.

Over 50 percent of projects are classed as renewables with over a fifth in the agricultural sector, including many tackling emissions from animal wastes.

The value of the credits could reach well over 1.5 billion of which close to $650 million generated in Brazil; around $300 million in Mexico and more than $100 million in Argentina.

Asia and the Pacific

Close to 3,250 CDM projects are registered or in the pipeline that could be worth over $9.5 billion - some $6.5 billion in China.

Renewables dominate the Asia-Pacific regional CDM picture with close to 70 percent of the projects followed by energy efficiency projects.

After China and India, Malaysia comes third with 145 projects registered or in the pipeline up from one in 2004, followed by Indonesia with close to 100, including geothermal power projects.

Copyright Environment News Service (ENS) 2008. All rights reserved.