The CDM Watch Discussion Forum is a place to exchange and debate positive and negative experiences with the CDM. The aim is to get an accurate picture of what’s really happening on the ground and draw on lessons learnt. Has the CDM achieved its goals? What changes do we need to create net benefits for …
A lot of water has passed under the Tabasará Bridge, site of historical protests in Panama. Barro Blanco is the latest dam envisaged for this historic river named for its Ngäbe indigenous chief in their struggle against the Spaniards. The Ngäbes and their Movement 10th of April have resisted until now and demand protection of their rights and resources. All concessions that were granted without their approval should be cancelled, including for the contentious Barro Blanco hydro-electric project.
It is time to recognise that the CDM cannot ensure the environmental integrity of its waste sector projects, nor eliminate the social harm that they cause. Rather than continuing to support projects with negative social and environmental outcomes, the CDM should cease issuing CERs to solid waste disposal projects, including incinerators and landfills.
For new CDM projects registered after 2012, the EU has decided that it will only buy carbon credits if projects are located in Least Developed Countries (LDCs). Therefore, this year sees a surge in projects applying for carbon credits particularly from Brazil, India, and China, because starting in 2013, these emerging countries will no longer be able to register new projects able to sell credits to the European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (the largest carbon market in the world).
At the climate negotiations in Durban last November, countries agreed to establish a new market based mechanism and to come up with a framework that new bilateral or regional market mechanisms would have to comply with. Now they are working hard on coming up with rules and governance systems for these new market based systems. At the same time, the two largest market based mechanisms, the European Emissions Trading System (EU-ETS) and the CDM are on the brink of collapse.
The CDM Executive Board (Board) supervises the CDM and consists of 10 members and 10 alternates. Board members have considerable power and influence. Together with support staff from the UNFCCC Secretariat, they meet approximately six times a year to decide on new policies and rules for project types, to review and register new projects, and approve credit issuance. It is therefore important to watch their actions and follow their meetings carefully because many important decisions are made.
By Diego Martinez Schütt, CDM Watch The European Union (EU) plays a unique role in the CDM: it is its biggest client. The EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), which covers 50% of all EU GHG emissions, is the world’s biggest greenhouse gas (GHG) cap-and-trade scheme. The EU-ETS aims at driving European emissions down by …
Read more “Why the EU’s Position on Carbon Markets Matters (Watch this! #1)”
The obstacles to meaningful public participation in the CDM have been highlighted many times. In particular, local stakeholder consultation guidelines need urgent improvement and many options have been presented. There is no need to wait any longer. It’s time to act now.
Three months after starting the CDM Policy Dialogue, the High-Level Panel Members are conducting meetings and trying to get their heads around the problems of the CDM, its future direction and its impact on mitigation and sustainable development. CDM Watch has launched an online discussion forum to help that all views, including those of civil …
Read more “Can the CDM Policy Dialogue Panel save the CDM? (Watch this! #1)”
Welcome to the first edition of our brand new NGO Newsletter. ‘Watch This! NGO views on the CDM’ will appear quarterly in English, Spanish and Hindi with campaign updates and opinion pieces from around the world.
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