UN registers 5000th CDM project
London, 16 November (Argus) — The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has registered its 5000th clean development mechanism (CDM) project amid a steep drop in certified emission reduction (CER) prices.
UNFCCC executive secretary Christiana Figueres defended the CDM as a tool to encourage greenhouse gas emission reductions in developing countries.
“I say that the problem is one of 'under-demand' and not 'over supply' because even if every last unit available in markets today were used or cancelled to meet mitigation targets, we would still be far from reaching the parties' goal to limit global warming to 2°C or better,” she said.
The CDM has attracted more than $215bn in investment in mitigation and has proven that market-based mechanisms can bring in private-sector support for sustainable development, Figueres added.
CER prices have plummeted recently. The benchmark contract hit a low of €0.69/t CO2 equivalent (CO2e) on 15 November. Future restrictions on CERs, high issuances, a lack of post-2012 demand, and a potential ban on certain emission reduction units (ERUs) have weighed on prices, many analysts have said.
At the UN climate change convention in Durban last year, governments agreed on a second commitment period for the Kyoto protocol and confirmed a continuing role for market-based approaches, including the CDM, the UNFCCC said. At the upcoming conference in Doha, parties are expected to define the length of the second commitment period, either five or eight years, to begin on 1 January.
“What we need now from Kyoto protocol countries when they meet in Qatar later this month is their clear recognition of how far the CDM has come in terms of quality assurance and efficiency and of the mechanism's continuing role in the international response to climate change,” chair of the CDM executive board Duan Maosheng said.
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