Hans Curtius and Tobias Vorlaufer examine the success of CDM projects in the biogas sector of China, where the majority of biogas projects are in the food processing industry. By September 2009, 34 projects were either registered or in validation process at the UNFCCC, which account for 2% of all projects. They conclude that these projects are not expected to meet the CDM goal of contributing to sustainable development because of low operation skills and inadequate technology due to low foreign technology and know-how transfer. Curtius and Vorlaufer point out that inadequacies in the international CDM framework and complications with national regulations and legal obstacles also hinder these biogas plants to operate for successful sustainable development. A new CDM framework or reform must be in place to improve biogas project operations in China.
Losing ground: UN carbon market will likely fail to protect marginalised communities – report
30/04/2026
A tool that aims to promote and safeguard sustainable development under the UN carbon market offers indigenous peoples and local communities little protection against projects which infringe on their land or violate their human rights. This was the disturbing finding of a joint investigation by Carbon Market Watch and the Land Matrix Initiative.
