cdm background

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CDM Background

2006

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Background

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Greenhouse Effect

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What can happen

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What can happen (2)

• The global temperature may climb from 1.4 to 5.8 degrees C– Higher temperatures are expected to expand

the range of some dangerous "vector-borne" diseases, such as malaria

– Where dryland agriculture relies solely on rain, as in sub-Saharan Africa, yields would decrease dramatically even with minimal increases in temperature

– Large scale melting of ice caps can raise sea levels

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What can Happen (3)

• The sea level may rise from 9 to 88 cm – Salt-water intrusion from rising sea levels will

reduce the quality and quantity of freshwater supplies

– Low Lying areas such as Bangladesh and tropical islands can be submerged

• Extreme weather events, as predicted by computer models, are striking more often and can be expected to intensify and become still more frequent

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What can be done

• Reducing Emissions - Burning oil and coal more efficiently, switching to renewable forms of energy, such as solar and wind power, and developing new technologies for industry and transport can attack the problem at the source.

• Expanding Forests - Trees remove carbon dioxide, the dominant greenhouse gas, from the atmosphere. The more we have, the better. But deforestation -- the current trend -- liberates additional carbon and makes global warming worse.

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What can be done (2)

• Changing Lifestyles - The cultures and habits of millions of people -- essentially, whether they waste energy or use it efficiently -- have a major impact on climate change. So do government policies and regulations.

• Coping - Steps have to be taken -- and the sooner the better -- to limit damage from consequences of global warming that are now inevitable.

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Making a difference

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Making a difference

• The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)IPCC – Created by World Meteorological Organization

and United Nations Environment Program in 1988

• IPCC does not conduct its own scientific inquiries– Reviews worldwide research, issues regular

assessment reports, and compiles special reports and technical papers.

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Making a difference (2)

• Panels finding led to United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

• Introduced for signature at Rio “Earth Summit” in 1992

• The UNFCCC has the goal of preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate system

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UNFCCC - Features

• Ultimate objective – Stabilize greenhouse gas emissions "at a

level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human induced) interference with the climate system."

• Heaviest burden for fighting climate change on industrialized nations*– Industrialized nations were expected by the

year 2000 to reduce emissions to 1990 levels

*OECD and 12 “Economies in Transition” consisting of Central and Eastern European states

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UNFCCC – Features (2)

• Precise and regularly updated inventories of greenhouse gas emissions from industrialized countries

• Support climate-change activities in developing countries – Provide financial support above and beyond

any financial assistance they already provide to these countries.

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Kyoto Protocol

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History

• Need felt to augment the Convention – stricter demands for reducing Green House Gas

Emissions

• 1995 governments began negotiations on a protocol – An international agreement linked to the existing

treaty, but standing on its own.

• Protocol adopted at Kyoto in 1997– This protocol is now commonly known as ‘Kyoto

Protocol”

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Implications

• Mandatory targets on greenhouse-gas emissions for the world's leading economies– Applicable to all nations which accepted the

Kyoto protocol– These targets range from -8 per cent to +10

per cent of the countries' individual 1990 emissions levels

– Future mandatory targets are expected to be established for "commitment periods" after 2012

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Implications (2)

• Commitments under the Protocol vary from nation to nation – 8 per cent in the European Union (EU[15]),

Switzerland, and most Central and East European states

– 6 per cent in Canada– 6 per cent in Hungary, Japan, and Poland– Norway may increase emissions by up to 1

per cent

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Implications (3)

• Agreement offers flexibility in how countries may meet their targets– Partially compensate for their emissions by

increasing "sinks" -- forests, which remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

– Pay for foreign projects that result in greenhouse-gas cuts.

– Several mechanisms have been set up for this purpose, including CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) and JI (Joint Implementation)

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CDM(Clean Development

Mechanism)

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Getting Everyone Involved

• Greenhouse-gas emissions of developing countries are growing – Rapidly industrializing nations like India and

China are contributing more– No limits set on these nations

• Atmosphere is equally damaged wherever they occur– Protocol includes an arrangement for

reductions to be "sponsored" in countries not bound by emissions targets

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CDM Simplified

• Industrialized countries pay for projects that cut or avoid emissions in poorer nations

• Awarded “credits” that can be applied to meeting their own emissions targets

• The recipient countries benefit from free infusions of advanced technology – This allows their factories or electrical generating

plants to operate more efficiently

• The atmosphere benefits because future emissions are lower than they would have been otherwise

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CDM Simplified (2)

• It Is Cost-effective And Offers A Degree Of Flexibility – More efficient to carry out environmentally

useful work in developing countries – Land, technology, and labor are generally

more costly in developed countries– The benefits to the climate are the same

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CDM Simplified (3)

• The system also appeals to private companies and investors– Credits or “Certified Emission Reductions” (CER) can

be traded in the Protocols emissions-trading market– They can be “banked” for later use

• Overseen by an Executive Board – Has approved a series of "methodologies" for large-

scale and small-scale projects – To be certified, a project must be approved by all

involved parties, demonstrate a measurable and long-term ability to reduce emissions, and promise reductions that would be additional to any that would otherwise occur

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CDM Simplified (4)

• Small scale projects (<15MW) have fast track processes

• Afforestation and reforestation projects to be included in the scheme

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Current Scenario

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Worldwide CDM

• 520 projects are at various stages of application as CDM projects (Dec 2005)*– Of these, 202 are from India*

• 93 projects have been registered– 23 of these are from India

• India is the leading force in CDM project generation– Supportive role by Ministry of Environment– Increasing awareness in the private sector

* Source: www.cd4cdm.org

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India’s Potential• Potential CER’s to be generated out of CDM projects in

different sectors

Power Generation

Industry

Transport

Source: TERI National Strategy Study 2004