The Kyoto Protocol allows for the development of an international emissions-trading system. This led to the formulation of various mechanisms, namely Joint Implementation (JI), the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Emissionstrading (ET). Given the potential emission-reduction targets in 2012 for developing countries, and in particular for South Africa, the objective of this study is identifying the current implementation of the CDM project cycle steps, as well as assessing the appropriateness of them. Constraints, bottlenecks and opportunities, are identified and suggestions for improvement are made, in order to improve the body of scientific knowledge. From the literature survey, and from discussions with experts in the field, it appears as if the benefits and issues identified, corroborate international findings. Benefits for countries hosting CDM projects include improved balance of payment, technology transfer and replacement of inefficient technology. Commonly occurring concerns, are that baseline setting, additionality and the entire CDM project cycle is complex. Resource and time constraints could jeopardize projects. Transaction costs have been prohibitive, further compounded by lack of initial upfront funding. Bureaucracy from the CDM executive board has frustrated attempts to implement projects. Lack of methodologies, as well as huge risk and cost in developing new methodologies have been obstacles for project developers, while clear guidelines on monitoring, governance and additionality have been conspicuously absent. Suggestions for improvement have been regular baseline revision and standard assessment procedures, application of the gold standard and an additionality tool. Issues that seem to be uniquely particular to South Africa are the slow adoption of large companies to accept the benefits of CDM, difficulty in convincing company executives to embark on CDM projects, as well as unwillingness to delegate authority to technical staff. Another notable pattern is a mismatch of opinion between scientists, academics and business. South Africa uniquely, produces 90% of its energy from fossil fuels, which could limit the adoption of CDM. Lack of institutional knowledge and experience is concerning, as well as ethics and little collaboration amongst stakeholders. Innovative suggestions for improvement have included a weighting for sustainable development indicators, benchmarks to simplify baselines, sink projects to be excluded owing to their risk, sellers clearing houses, industrial gases to be excluded, and programmatic CDM. Another important suggestion is that taxation of CDM credits should be abandoned, and the restrictive Public Finance Management Act to be improved. The proposed study has attempted to highlight some of these significant issues, with the view to improving the current knowledge and advance the possibility of alleviating some of these burdening issues.

One of the main challenges that investors in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project face is the management of the volatility of the price of Certified Emission Reduction (CERs). Large scale CDM projects require a long-term investment with significant amount of costs, and this type of investment is often irreversible. Project investors should quantitatively assess the CER trigger price that justifies the initiation of a CDM investment. The traditional discounted cash flow valuation is unable to capture the option value associated with uncertain investment, and thus it tends to underestimate the trigger price which initiates the investment. Real options theory explicitly considers the option value of delayed investment and can provide a better measurement of the trigger price. This paper presents a theoretical model of the CDM investment project and derives the CER trigger prices that guide investment decisions by using historical market data. It develops a stochastic dynamic programming model for both the geometric Brownian motion process and the mean-reverting process. An analytical solution for the trigger price is derived for the former process, and the trigger price is numerically estimated for the latter. By considering various parameter values, it analyzes the effects of different market environments on the trigger price.

One of the main challenges that investors in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project face is the management of the volatility of the price of Certified Emission Reduction (CERs). Large scale CDM projects require a long-term investment with significant amount of costs, and this type of investment is often irreversible. Project investors should quantitatively assess the CER trigger price that justifies the initiation of a CDM investment. The traditional discounted cash flow valuation is unable to capture the option value associated with uncertain investment, and thus it tends to underestimate the trigger price which initiates the investment. Real options theory explicitly considers the option value of delayed investment and can provide a better measurement of the trigger price. This paper presents a theoretical model of the CDM investment project and derives the CER trigger prices that guide investment decisions by using historical market data. It develops a stochastic dynamic programming model for both the geometric Brownian motion process and the mean-reverting process. An analytical solution for the trigger price is derived for the former process, and the trigger price is numerically estimated for the latter. By considering various parameter values, it analyzes the effects of different market environments on the trigger price.

Carbon forestry projects have proliferated over last few years on the premise of cost efficient climate mitigation along with co-benefits of biodiversity conservation and livelihood improvement. Multilateral, bilateral, public and private sources have invested billions of dollars in the carbon forestry projects based on these claims. However, there is little empirical evidence to support the enthusiasm. This gap is further accentuated by the insufficient understanding of the governance challenges of these projects. These issues are social, political and ecological in nature and hence require a multidisciplinary political ecology framework for a comprehensive analysis. This thesis explores the multiple benefit claims and governance issues by analysing two forestry-based Clean Development Mechanism projects from India. One, in Haryana state focuses on private lands, the other in Himachal involves three different types of lands viz. community, public and private for plantation activities. This thesis examines the carbon, biodiversity and livelihood benefits of each project, and the governance challenges associated with them. I show that both projects have sequestered substantially less carbon than was originally predicted, which has serious implications for carbon revenues and hence economic viability of these projects. In the case of biodiversity, the results are mixed. In Haryana, the tree and herb biodiversity has improved in the project plots as compared to control plots, whereas shrub biodiversity has marginally declined. In case of Himachal project, biodiversity has declined at tree, shrub and herb levels. I have analysed livelihood impacts in terms of foregone crop, fodder and fuel wood benefits across small, medium and large category of farmers. Both the projects have adverse livelihood impacts on the participants, more so in Haryana because of the plantations on private lands. Although the project has adversely affected the livelihoods of all three categories of farmers, however it has affected small farmers the most due to their low incomes and risk-bearing capacities. Hence, these projects have serious equity implications. This thesis also explores the governance challenges of carbon forestry in terms of their interaction with existing policy mechanisms, especially the Forest Rights Act of 2006, which recognises the ownership and use rights of forest dependent communities comprehensively first time in independent India. The analysis suggests that there are various issues that carbon forestry projects pose for the implementation of the Act due to which civil society groups are opposing these projects. This thesis contributes to our understanding of the multiple benefit claims of carbon forestry projects with empirical evidence and a political ecological analysis. It shows that there is possibility of tradeoffs and many other scenarios in carbon forestry projects rather than just the projected 'win-win-win' outcomes. It contributes to the political economy literature by establishing that changes in global commodity markets can influence land use choices at local level, affecting the sustainability of such efforts. This thesis also advances the literature on governance of carbon forestry projects by reflecting on various policy and implementation level issues related to property rights, community institutions, transparency and accountability.

Zugl.: Giessen, Univ., Diss., 2008

Zugleich: Diss. Giessen, 2008. / Diss. Univ. Giessen, 2008. Literaturverz.

Zugl.: Münster (Westfalen), Univ., Diss., 2010

Responses in India towards the Clean Development Mechanism Asmita Bhardwaj Recognizing the grave danger that climate change poses to mankind, the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in 1992 by 150 nations. Subsequent climate change negotiations were to be guided through the principles of â equity,â â common but differentiated responsibilitiesâ and respective â capabilities,â while developed countries were to take lead in combating climate change. The Kyoto Protocol amended the FCCC in 1997 and set legally binding emission reduction targets for industrialized countries. No such commitments were mandated for the developing countries. The Kyoto Protocol, however, created the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which required participation of developing countries as hosts for CDM projects. Though it faced significant opposition at the onset it was adopted by many developing countries later. This paper outlines the responses towards the CDM in India. <p> Many developed countries, such as the United States, have sought to include participation of developing countries in reducing greenhouse gas emissions mainly through binding growth caps on future emissions. Since 1997, this call for â meaningful participationâ has stalled the US ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. In response some scholars have tried to link initiatives like CDM to â meaningful participationâ . This paper suggests that rather than relying on the CDM, this contention regarding commitments can be resolved on a long-term basis if only there is a fair and explicit allocation of GHG emission quotas incorporating â equityâ concerns. Meaningful participation, which might mean quantified commitments, does not take into consideration â equityâ , a key criteria for developing country participation. Full participation can only result when Southern demands are given equal importance. / Master of Urban and Regional Planning

<p>A scholarship from the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (SIDA) made it possible for the authors to collect primary data on location in Vietnam. Through a study of three organizations we aimed to create an understanding of the Clean Development Mechanism.</p><p>Despite all the natural resources and the potential of renewable energy in Vietnam, a large percent of the electricity production comes from coal and other sources that contribute to carbon dioxide emissions. However, there are organizations working nationwide with implementing renewable energy projects and educating the Vietnamese. Since the birth of carbon market in connection with the Kyoto Protocol new possibilities have emerged as e.g the Clean Development Mechanism. For example high quality carbon offsetting companies are working on projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions.</p><p>The purpose of this thesis is to study and describe how three organizations are working with renewable energy in rural areas in Vietnam and their connection to Clean Development Mechanism.</p><p>We have carried out an explorative study with an inductive approach. Our three semi-structured interviews were conducted as personal interviews at location in Vietnam. We also had two informative meetings, also in Vietnam. Beyond, we had e-mail correspondents with a number of professionals in their field.</p><p>Due to the heavy bureaucracy the Governmental process rate is slow, which are making projects such as in the area of renewable energy difficult to initiate. Also the Governmental interest in renewable energy as a source of generating electricity is limited. However, new policies are on the agenda which might increase the support for organisations working towards a sustainable development.</p>

<p>China is the second largest emitter of greenhouse gases (GHG) in the world. Since 68% of its primary energy is from coal, China’s average energy intensity is 7.5 times higher than the EU and 4.3 times higher than the US (EU, 2003). Therefore, introducing advanced clean technologies and management to China represents opportunities for Annex I countries to obtain low-cost CERs through CDM projects, and access to one of the largest energy conservation markets in the world.</p><p>The Chinese government considers that the introduction of CDM projects can bring advanced energy technologies and foreign investment to China, thereby helping China’s sustainable development. As energy efficiency is generally low and carbon intensity is high in both China’s energy supply and demand sectors, numerous options exist for cost-effective energy conservation and GHG mitigation with CDM.</p><p>This study has focused on the following areas:</p><p> Clean development Mechanism (CDM) Policy and Implementation in ChinaClean development Mechanism (CDM) Policy and Implementation in ChinaChina’s energy development strategy and climate change, how to make CDM work for sustainable development in China?</p><p> CDM projects in China: policies assessment and recommendations for improvement.</p><p> Energy efficiency CDM projects and renewable CDM projects in China: case studies</p><p>Firstly, this thesis reviewed the current CDM developments in China, attentions were given to the renewable energy, energy efficiency and methane capture project opportunities in China.</p><p>Secondly, this study introduced China’s current policy on CDM implementation, and reviewed its permission requirements, institutional arrangements and project procedures. Based on the observations, this study analyzed the current problems and pointed out the shortfalls of the existing Chinese CDM policies and institutional settings. Options to remove these barriers were given as recommendations. This thesis also looked at the problem of that CDM was designed to have double dividends, to reduce the compliance cost of the Annex I countries and to contribute to sustainable development in Non Annex I Parties, but in reality, CDM has caused concerns about whether it could really support sustainable development in host countries. This study analyzed the reasons underpin this problem.</p><p>Thirdly, based on the analysis made on energy efficiency and renewable CDM project development in China, case study was given on China’s landfill gas to energy project. This study analyzed the perspective of GHG mitigation through landfill gas capture and utilization in China, its opportunities and challenges. Moreover, this study demonstrated how CDM can add value to landfill gas-to-energy projects in China.</p>