Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

Comments to DNV Regarding the Teesta VI Hydroelectric Project (India)

Monday, April 5, 2010
The Project Proponents are providing misleading information to the UNFCCC for gaining undue CDM benefits. The project does not qualify for CDM credits and would form an unhealthy precedent if granted CDM credits. Based on our information we submit that it will not be appropriate to accept the Teesta VI Hydroelectric project in India for CDM credits. Some of the reasons why the project should not be accepted for CDM credits are: 1. It is a business as usual hydro project. There is no demonstrated additionality. Such projects have been implemented in the past without CDM credits. None of the of

Outcomes of CDM Executive Board Meeting

Last week the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Executive Board (EB) met in Bonn. A number of interesting decisions were taken that I highlight below. The EB is continuing its crackdown of shoddy work of designated operational entities (DOEs). TUEV SUED was immediately suspended. The accreditation panel found that TUEV SUED had continued to give positive validations for projects which were flagged over corrections. This was despite the fact that TUEV SUED had concerns about additionality. The other reason given for the suspension was due to the lack of technical exper

Letter to SGS Re Kamchay Hydroelectric BOT Project (Cambodia)

Construction work at the Kamchay Dam site - 2008 © Marcus Rhinelander
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Current Status: At Validation (as of Mar 2010) Jirote Na Nakorn Managing Director SGS (THAILAND) LIMITED 100 Nanglinchee Road, Chongnonsee Yannawa 10120 Bangkok Thailand cc CDM Executive Board, SGS Headquarters Re: Submission for carbon credits of the Kamchay Hydroelectric BOT Project March 11, 2010 Dear Jirote Na Nakorn, We are writing to express our concern over the application for carbon credits of Kamchay Hydroelectric BOT Project in Cambodia, which applied for validation back in the fall of 2008. While we missed the public comment period, our partners in Cambod

Chinese Dams In Hot Water

Hydro developers and auditors in hot water.
Hydro developers and auditors in hot water. Photo: Gregg McNeill, http://www.flickr.com/photos/gbmcinephoto/ The Clean Development Mechanism's Executive Board (EB), which approves and rejects projects applying for emissions reductions credits, just ended their latest board meeting in Germany with a decision that has stunned carbon market investors – and given some hope to dam-fighters and CDM reform activists. 38 Chinese CDM hydropower projects failed to get immediate registration, which is an unprecedented number. If they had been immediately registered, these hydropower develope

US Companies Favoring Efficiency Over Offsets

The average Nike shoe emits about 40 pounds of CO2
The average Nike shoe emits about 40 pounds of CO2 http://www.greenbiz.com A few years ago, the latest green(wash) rage among the rich and famous was offsetting carbon emissions from air travel and energy use. Lately, this trend may be slowly reversing itself. Companies are beginning to see the problems inherent in offsets and are instead turning to improving energy efficiency. The latest companies to abandon the over-hyped offset are Yahoo! and Nike. Last summer, Yahoo! announced that in a reversal of its 2007 announcement of investing in carbon offset projects to become carbon neu

Crunching the Hydro Numbers 2009: Fourth Quarter Update on the CDM

Fig. 1: Projects entering the CDM pipeline
Update: The number of projects that entered the CDM pipeline fell 42% from the third quarter (See Fig. 1). The percent of hydropower projects entering the CDM pipeline relative to all CDM projects continues to be on a downward trend since 2007 (see Fig. 2). According to a new Point Carbon survey (sub req'd), one third of registered CDM projects never go on to receive CERs, or certified emissions reductions credits. Most notable are landfill gas and other waste projects. Arne Eik, analyst at Point Carbon, attribute the lack of issuance to: "problems with projec

Offsets and the Rich/Poor Divide

International Rivers' Payal Parekh gives an update on the current status of the climate negotiations at Copenhagen's COP15. Developed countries continue to avoid taking strong targets, raising tensions between rich and poor countries on the third-to-last day of the negotiations. News on offsets and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are mixed and constantly changing.

Down and Dirty: Farm Soil Will Offset Emissions in Australia's Carbon Cut Scheme

Monday, December 14, 2009
Originally published in The Sydney Morning Herald It was a candid remark in a private briefing. But unfortunately for the Government, comments by an Australian climate negotiator late last week in Copenhagen have pretty much let the cat out of the bag on where Labor intends to find any ambitious cuts to Australia's 2020 greenhouse gas emissions. Ironically, it will be in exactly the same places that the Opposition Leader, Tony Abbott, goes looking for his ''practical measures'' to solve climate change. And they will not be anywhere near the smokestacks of dirty coal-fired power stations or t

All Eyes On Copenhagen

Governments and civil society from the world over will be converging on Copenhagen, December 2009
The UN Climate Change Conference is in Copenhagen from December 7-18, 2009 Governments and civil society from the world over will be converging on Copenhagen, December 2009 Climate Action Network For months, governments, lobbyists, and civil society have been gearing up for the "big one," and now it's finally here - the UN climate conference in wintry Copenhagen. Governments are meeting in the Danish capital to negotiate what is to follow the "first commitment period" of the Kyoto Protocol, which runs out at the end of 2012. Unfortunately, many industrialized country governments have been

Dan Rather Does Carbonomics

Dan Rather
Dan Rather ClizBiz on Flickr Renowned TV anchor Dan Rather has done an excellent episode of his cable news show exploring the scams and stupidities of carbon offsetting. International Rivers' research on bogus emission reductions from Chinese hydro dams is featured in the 52-minute show. I'm interviewed about the Xiaogushan Dam, which has been approved by the UN to sell offsets under the Clean Development Mechanism. The offsets are being bought by German utility RWE to enable them to continue burning dirty coal. The World Bank helped the Xiaogushan project developers get offs

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