At the meeting the CDM Executive Board (EB) will also decide whether or not to allow the renewal of the crediting period of the first HFC-23 Decomposition Project (Project 003) ever registered. The project is located in Ulsan, South Korea and operated by the Ineos Group. The project has generated 1,4 Mio credits over its first crediting period (2003-2010) and is planning to sell another 2,2 Mio credits between 2010 and 2017.

However, research commissioned by CDM Watch has shown that the Ulsan project seems to have artificially increased HCFC-22 production. Production of HCFC-22 increased substantially after the registration of the CDM project in 2005 and therefore also dramatically increased the project’s credit issuance.

In light of the serious concerns highlighted in the HFC-23 revision request as well as in the note by the Meth Panel, CDM Watch believes that a decision about the renewal of the crediting period should only be taken after the significant shortcomings in the current methodology have been addressed. The Board should therefore put the request for renewal of the crediting period of this project on hold until the results of the full investigation have been presented and a revised methodology adopted.