Clean development by own resources

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has become a key element of the global response to climate change. Projects in developing countries can generate emission reduction credits that can be sold to governments and companies of industrialized countries and then be used for compliance with the emission targets under the Kyoto Protocol. While it had been thought that CDM projects would normally be done by companies from industrialized countries that invest into projects in the South, it is now common practice for companies in developing countries to set up the projects with their own funds and sell the emission reduction credits on the market. We look at the history of this “unilateral” approach and analyze the reasons that lead to its attractiveness. Case studies show which countries have a promising potential for unilateral CDM projects. The book aims at practitioners of the global greenhouse gas markets, government officials who want to understand the driving forces behind the CDM and at policy analysts who want to assess possibilities for future climate policy instruments.