Not all greenhouse gas emissions reductions are created equal, especially those spewing from hydroelectric projects spurred by the CDM in China.
Law Professor John Copeland Nagle from the University of Notre Dame in Indiana, USA indubitably caught on to this. He spells out the good and bad consequences of these projects in “Discounting China’s Dams”, also suggesting to move more resources to establish and run CDM projects to host countries (away from dams) and push for other renewable energy projects instead. But the big thriller is his proposal to battle the market incentives that continue to subsidise and proliferate harmful hydroelectric projects with a way to “discount” these projects with a multiplication factor that unequivocally awards less credits for every ton of avoided emissions. This way, the CDM can dodge the most harmful environmental projects, allocate credits to other developing countries, and inch closer to sustainable development. Let’s see how dam investors will get shaken up on this invigorating proposal.
