Event
First Climate at Geneva Trade & Development Forum
Location: Crans Montana, Switzerland
The session was chaired by Till Danckwardt, First Climate's Regional Manager for Africa & the Middle East. The other participants were Henry Derwent (Chairman and President, IETA), Durando Ndongsok (Senior Project Manager, First Climate), and Rose Mero (Senior Advisor, EPMS, Tanzania).
The key points under discussion were
• The differentiated responsibilities of developed and developing countries. The obligation to reduce emissions in developed countries provides an opportunity for developing countries to gain from the
voluntary reductions of emissions (through the CDM).
• Session participants queried the presenters as to the range of renewable energy projects that could generate CERs. Methodologies are being developed and refined to be more inclusive of agricultural as well as renewable energy projects. Forest projects (and “avoided deforestation” project) have raised methodological issues, now largely resolved.
• Objections have been raised with regard to the “low hanging fruit,” whereby rights to reduce that could be retained by developing countries for later benefit are being grabbed by developed countries under this phase of the KP.
• The discussion highlighted data collection issues. While there are calls for simplified data requirements, the CDM mechanism still requires very good data not always available in developing countries, especially in Africa. Improvements in data collection have been made in India, for example, where a CDM-compliant date base for the energy sector has been developed. There is no alternative to solving the data availability issue at the national level. More capacity building is necessary.
• Solar projects have clear potential but are not cost effective in relation to other options.
• The CDM mechanism works in the context of the compliance market under the current Kyoto Protocol. The current fiscal crisis may incite companies to lobby national authorities to lower obligations to take the
pressure off companies facing higher costs of energy.
• The “engine of demand” is not yet powerful enough. There was a call for new forms of CDMs to allow for scaling up and to countering the irrational bias against “exporting value to developing countries.” Negotiation for post-2012 rules has already begun.
• What needs to be done? Strengthen the hand of the authorities in developing countries for engaging in and implementing the CER process.
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