CDM Watch Discussion Forum Takes Off (Newsletter #19)

CDM Watch recently launched an online discussion forum to enable the public to participate in the CDM reform dialogue. The UN High-Level Panel on the CDM Policy Dialogue Panel is currently taking stock of the lessons learned in the CDM. CDM Watch’s Discussion Forum aims to foster open and constructive communication between civil society, policy …

Joint Implementation – Why we are worried (Newsletter #19)

The future of Joint Implementation (JI) is uncertain. The mechanism will have to be revised for the next commitment period. Currently the vast majority of JI credits come from dubious projects in countries with large Assigned Amount Units (AAU) surpluses. In these countries JI can be used to ‘launder’ surplus AAUs. Parties will discuss the …

CDM Watch Newsletter #19, May 2012

Dear friends,

The CDM Executive Board will have its 67th meeting just before the 14-25 May UN climate negotiations in Bonn, Germany. In this newsletter we give an overview of the relevant carbon market issues that are on the agenda in Bonn. Of course our team will be there to join fellow ENGOs to advocate for environmental and social integrity.

Press Release: New rules for coal offsetting projects still severely flawed

Bonn, Germany, 7 May. The UN’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board will discuss this week whether to approve revised rules on coal power offsetting projects. NGOs are urging the Board to reject the revision because they do not address crucial technical flaws. The revisions also fail to address the severe harm new coal projects …

Watch This! Noticeboard (Watch this! #1)

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 …

The CDM Project Barro Blanco – an Obstacle to Peace (Watch this! #1)

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.

Landfills and Incinerators in the CDM: Not Sustainable, Not Additional (Watch this! #1)

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.

Selling out the Amazon: Brazil Seeks Carbon Credits for Controversial Dams (Watch this! #1)

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).

The Dismal Future (of Carbon Markets) (Watch this! #1)

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.