World level
Environment related Conferences /Protocols /summits
Broadly, The
environment related major events started from 1970 and th first major
convention is RAMSAR CONVENTION: The
convention on wetlands of international importance, called the ramsar convention,
is an intergovernmental treaty that provides the framework for national action
and international cooperation for the conservation and wise use of wetlands and
their resources.
The ramsar convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of ramsar in 1971 and the convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.
The ramsar convention is the only global environmental treaty that deals with a particular ecosystem. The treaty was adopted in the Iranian city of ramsar in 1971 and the convention's member countries cover all geographic regions of the planet.
The theme for this year’s World Wetlands Day on 2 February is Wetlands and Water Management.
Number of » contracting
parties: 163 » list of wetlands of international importance: 2,065
The Ramsar Convention works
closely with five other organisations known as International Organization
Partners (IOPs). These are Birdlife International, the International Union for Conservation of
Nature (IUCN), the International Water Management Institute (IWMI), Wetlands International and WWF International.
What are
ramsar wetlands?
Under the ramsar convention, a wide variety of
natural and human-made habitat types ranging from rivers to coral reefs can be
classified as wetlands. Wetlands include swamps, marshes, billabongs, lakes,
salt marshes, mudflats, mangroves, coral reefs, fens, peat bogs, or bodies of
water - whether natural or artificial, permanent or temporary. Water within
these areas can be static or flowing; fresh, brackish or saline; and can
include inland rivers and coastal or marine water to a depth of six metres at
low tide. There are even underground wetlands.
Five major wetland
types are generally recognized:
Marine (coastal wetlands including
coastal lagoons, rocky shores, and coral reefs);
Estuarine (including deltas, tidal marshes,
and mangrove swamps);
Lacustrine (wetlands associated with
lakes);
Riverine (wetlands along rivers and
streams); and
Palustrine (meaning “marshy” - marshes,
swamps and bogs).
(Questions can be asked on the water bodies
what wetlands includes so let’s just discuss those first)
Swamps: `A wetland dominated by tree and shrubs(US definition).In europe,a
forested fen will easily be called swamp. In some areas wetlands dominated by
reed grass are also called swamps.
Marsh –A frequently and continuously inundated characterized by emergent
herbaceous vegetation adapted to saturated soil conditions.
Fen: a peat accumulating wetland that receives some drainage from
surrounding mineral soil and usually supports marsh like condition. In opposition,
bogs have no significant inflows and outflows.
Bogs are systems of low primary productivity but Fen are areas of high
productivity
Peatland is a generic term for any wetland having partially
decomposed plant matter.
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, having met
at Stockholm from 5 to 16 June 1972, having considered the need for a common
outlook and for common principles to inspire and guide the peoples of
the world in the preservation and enhancement of the human environment.
The Stockholm Conference on human
environment propounded the concept of “ecodevelopment”implying a process of
ecologically sound development of positive development of positive management
of the environment for human benefit. It was the UN's first major conference on international environmental issues, and marked a turning point in
the development of international environmental politics.
Man and the Biosphere Programme
The Man and the Biosphere Programme (MAB)
of UNESCO was established in 1971 to promote interdisciplinary approaches
to management, research and education in ecosystem conservation
and sustainable use of natural resources.
Map showing the World Network of Biosphere Reserves as of 2009. Note:
transboundary sites have been redistributed among the concerned countries for
the locator map, hence, have been counted multiple times
Further information: World Network of
Biosphere Reserves
The MAB programme’s primary achievement is the creation in 1977 of
the World Network of Biosphere Reserves. This World Network is more than a
listing -- biosphere reserves exchange knowledge and experiences on sustainable
development innovations across national and continental borders -- they exist
in more than 100 countries all across the world. Biosphere reserves are areas
that are supposed to develop innovative approaches, test them and share the
results; more importantly to combine many different approaches in a vast
diversity of policy and management fields, towards a balanced relationship
between mankind and nature.
In order for an area to be included in the World Network of Biosphere
Reserves, work on the ground has to have started, appropriate information about
the region gathered, and the local population needs to have agreed. Nominations
then are prepared and submitted to UNESCO by national governments, in most
cases through MAB national committees. Benefits gained from being part of the
network include access to a shared base of knowledge and incentives to
integrate conservation, development and scientific research on sustainably manage
ecosystems.
Owing to the MAB programme’s focus to improving mankind's relationship with
nature, MAB has gradually been seen as UNESCO’s, and as one of
the United Nation’s most important responses to international dialogues
such as the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD).
Ahead of the 1990s, the MAB programme was a research programme organized along
14 large research projects addressing ecosystems such as mountain areas, arid
lands, etc.
During the initial years of the MAB programme, the designation of biosphere
reserves focused on research questions and on environmental conservation.
Hence, there are several national parks among the areas included in the network
- these mostly encompass isolated wilderness with
outstanding biodiversity values. In the early 1990s, the MAB
programme’s focus shifted to promoting interactions of mankind with nature in
terms of sustainable living, income generation and reducing poverty. In biosphere
reserves, nature is not isolated from man, but it is conserved through using
it. Hence, they are places where livelihood is sustained - even
urban greenbelts can be found among the biosphere reserves.
In 1995, the second World Congress of Biosphere Reserves held
in Seville formally defined and designated a set of objectives and
procedures governing the recognition of potential biosphere reserves based on
this strategic thrust (Seville Strategy and the International Guidelines).
Criteria have been set to ensure that the objectives of the programme will be
met. A regular evaluation of biosphere reserves is obligatory. Therefore, many
biosphere reserves which had been included during the 1970s and 1980s have in
the meantime either been withdrawn from the World Network or redefined so as to
remain relevant to this new setting. All relevant decisions in the MAB
Programme are taken by an intergovernmental committee, the MAB International
Co-coordinating Council (ICC): The 38 members of the ICC are government
representatives which are elected for a four-year term by the UNESCO General
Conference. The Secretariat of the MAB Programme is located with UNESCO
Headquarters Paris. To date, 580 biosphere reserves in 114 countries have been
included in the World Network of Biosphere Reserves.
About UNEP: The Organization
Mission: To provide leadership and encourage partnership
in caring for the environment by inspiring, informing, and enabling nations and
peoples to improve their quality of life without compromising that of future
generations.
UNEP is the
designated authority of the United Nations system in environmental issues at
the global and regional level. Its mandate is to
coordinate the development of environmental policy consensus by keeping the
global environment under review and bringing emerging issues to the
attention of governments and the international community for action. The
mandate and objectives of UNEP emanate from United Nations General Assembly
resolution of 15 December 1972 and subsequent amendments adopted at UNCED in
1992, the Nairobi Declaration on the Role and Mandate of UNEP, adopted at the
Nineteenth Session of the UNEP Governing Council.
(The Wildlife (Protection) Act, 1972 provides for
rational and modern wildlife management while the Forest (Conservation) Act,
1980 has been enacted to check the indiscriminate deforestation/diversion of
forest land for the non-forest purposes. In the same year of 1972,India set
up a committee called National committee
on Environmental Planning and Coordination(NCEPC) under the initiative of the then
prime minister, Indira Gandhi, to coordinate environmental issues. In 1976,the
constitution was amended by the 42nd Amendment act to incorporate
environmental concerns in the document, Vide Articles 48 A and 51A.In 1980,
based on the recommendation of high powered committee of the Planning
Commission, Department of Environment (DoE) was set up. In 1985 it was upgraded
to Ministry of Environment and Forest. The water (prevention and Control of
Pollution) Act 1974 was enacted to deal with water pollution. The Air
(Prevention and Control of Pollution) Act in 1981 and the Environment
(protection) Act, 1986 empowered the govt. to take necessary steps towards
protection of the environment.)
A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE OZONE REGIME (1970-till now)
Concerns that the Earth’s stratospheric ozone layer
could be at risk from chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and other anthropogenic
substances were first raised in the early 1970s. At that time, scientists
warned that the release of these substances into the atmosphere could deplete
the ozone layer, hindering its ability to prevent harmful ultraviolet rays from
reaching the Earth. This would adversely affect ocean ecosystems, agricultural
productivity and animal populations, and harm humans through higher rates of
skin cancers, cataracts and weakened immune systems. In response to this
growing concern, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) convened a
conference in March 1977 that adopted a World Plan of Action on the Ozone Layer
and established a Coordinating Committee to guide future international action
on ozone protection.
VIENNA
CONVENTION: In May 1981, the UNEP Governing Council
launched negotiations on an international agreement to protect the ozone layer
and, in March 1985, the Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer
was adopted. The Convention called for cooperation on monitoring, research and
data exchange, but did not impose obligations to reduce the use of
ozone-depleting substances (ODS). The Convention currently has 197 parties.
MONTREAL
PROTOCOL: In September 1987, efforts to negotiate
binding obligations to reduce the use of ODS led to the adoption of the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. The Protocol
introduced control measures for some CFCs and halons for developed countries
(non-Article 5 parties). Developing countries (Article 5 parties) were granted
a grace period allowing them to increase their ODS use before taking on
commitments. The Protocol currently has 197 parties.
Since 1987, several amendments and adjustments to the
Protocol have been adopted, adding new obligations and additional ODS, and
adjusting existing control schedules. Amendments require ratification by a
defined number of parties before they enter into force, while adjustments enter
into force automatically. Delegates to the second Meeting of the Parties to the
Montreal Protocol (MOP 2), which took place in London, UK, in 1990, tightened
control schedules and agreed to add ten more CFCs to the list of ODS, as well
as carbon tetrachloride (CTC) and methyl chloroform. At MOP 4, held in
Copenhagen, Denmark, in 1992, delegates tightened existing control schedules
and added controls on methyl bromide, hydrobromofluorocarbons and
hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). CURRENT ODS CONTROL SCHEDULES: Under the
amendments and adjustments to the Montreal Protocol, non-Article 5 parties were
required to phase out production and consumption of: halons by 1994; CFCs, CTC,
hydrobromochlorofluorocarbons and methyl chloroform by 1996; bromochloromethane
by 2002; and methyl bromide by 2005. Article 5 parties were required to phase
out production and consumption of hydrobromochlorofluorocarbons by 1996,
bromochloromethane by 2002, and CFCs, halons and CTC by 2010. Article 5 parties
must still phase out production and consumption of methyl chloroform and methyl
bromide by 2015. Under the accelerated phase-out of HCFCs adopted at MOP 19,
HCFC production and consumption by non-Article 5 parties was frozen in 2004 and
is to be phased out by 2020, while in Article 5 parties, HCFC production and
consumption is to be frozen by 2013 and phased out by 2030 (with interim
targets prior to those dates, starting in 2015 for Article 5 parties). There
are exemptions to these phase-outs to allow for certain uses lacking feasible
alternatives.
The Basel
Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes
and Their Disposal (adopted, 1989; entry into force,
1992)
i. Tran boundary movement and management of hazardous and other wastes:
The overall goal of the Basel Convention is to protect, by strictly control,
human health and the environment against the adverse effects which may result
from the generation, transboundary movement and management of hazardous and
other wastes.
ii. Reducing transboundary movements of wastes and controlling
permitted transboundary movement: Further objectives include: reducing
transboundary movements of wastes to a minimum consistent with their
environmentally sound and efficient management, and controlling any permitted
transboundary movement under the terms of the Convention; minimizing the amount
of hazardous wastes generated and ensuring their environmentally sound
management; and assisting developing countries in environmentally sound
management of the hazardous and other wastes they generate.
iii. Managing the disposal of hazardous wastes: In
summary, the aim of the Basel Convention is to help reduce the transboundary
movements and amounts of hazardous wastes to a minimum, and to manage and
dispose of these wastes in an environmentally sound manner.
iv. Strict control system based on the prior written
consent procedure: The Basel Convention has set up a very strict control
system, based on the prior written consent procedure. Hazardous wastes shall be
export only if the State of export does not have the technical capacity and
facilities to dispose of them in environmentally sound management.
Transboundary movement shall be prohibited if the State of export or import has
reason to believe that the wastes shall not be managed in expected manner.
1994- The
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
The United Nations Convention to Combat
Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or
Desertification, Particularly in Africa is a Convention to combat
desertification and mitigate the effects of drought through national action
programs that incorporate long-term strategies supported by international
cooperation and partnership arrangements.
The Convention, the only convention stemming from a
direct recommendation of the Rio Conference's Agenda 21, was adopted in Paris
on 17 June 1994 and entered into force in December 1996. It is the first and
only internationally legally binding framework set up to address the problem of
desertification. The Convention is based on the principles of participation,
partnership and decentralization - the backbone of Good Governance and
Sustainable Development. It now has 194 country Parties to the Convention,
making it truly global in reach.
To help publicize the Convention, 2006 was declared
"International Year of Deserts and Desertification" but debates have
ensued regarding how effective the International Year was in practice.opened
for signature - October 14, 1994; entered into force - December 26, 1996.
Kyoto Protocol
The
Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure (PIC) for Certain
Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade (adopted, 1998; not
yet entered into force)
i. Objectives: The Convention seeks to promote shared
responsibility and cooperative efforts among Parties in the international trade
of certain hazardous chemicals in order to protect human health and the
environment from potential harm and to contribute to their environmentally
sound use, by facilitating information exchange about their characteristics by
providing for a national decision-making process on their import and export and
by disseminating these decisions to the Parties.
ii. Scope: The Convention applies to banned or
severely restricted chemicals and severely hazardous pesticide formulations,
and sets out procedures for such chemicals and pesticide formulations.
iii. National Authorities: The Convention calls on
Parties to designate national authorities for the performance and administrative
functions required by the Convention.
iv. Implementation: Article 7 sets out the provisions
for implementing the Convention. Each Party must, within two years of the
Convention's entry into force, establish a plan of action as its implementation
plan.
The
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention
on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims to ensure the
safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting
from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological
diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29
January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003. The Protocol seeks to
protect biological diversity from the potential risks posed by living modified
organisms resulting from modern biotechnology. It establishes an advance
informed agreement (AIA) procedure for ensuring that countries are provided
with the information necessary to make informed decisions before agreeing to
the import of such organisms into their territory. The Protocol contains
reference to a precautionary approach and reaffirms the precaution language in
Principle 15 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. The
Protocol also establishes a Biosafety Clearing-House to facilitate the exchange
of information on living modified organisms and to assist countries in the
implementation of the Protocol.
Fast Facts
The Nagoya—Kuala Lumpur Supplementary
Protocol:
- was adopted on 15 October 2010 by the fifth meeting
of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity
serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety,
which took place in Nagoya, Japan
-was opened for signature at the UN Headquarters in
New York on 7 March 2011 and will remain open for signature until 6 March 2012.
It will enter into force 90 days after being ratified by at least 40 Parties to
the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety
- takes its name from the city of Nagoya, where it
was adopted, and from the city of Kuala Lumpur where several negotiation
sessions were held
- is the first international treaty that provides for
a definition of ‘damage’ to biodiversity
The Nagoya Protocol on Access & Benefit Sharing
(ABS) was adopted on 29 October 2010 in Nagoya, Japan and will enter into force
90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification. Its objective is the
fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from the utilization of genetic
resources, thereby contributing to the conservation and sustainable use of
biodiversity.
Objectives
The Nagoya Protocol on Access to Genetic Resources
and the Fair and Equitable Sharing of Benefits Arising from their Utilization
(ABS) to the Convention on Biological Diversity is a supplementary agreement to
the Convention on Biological Diversity. It provides a transparent legal
framework for the effective implementation of one of the three objectives of
the CBD: the fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources.
Relevance
The Nagoya Protocol is intended to create greater
legal certainty and transparency for both providers and users of genetic
resources by:
Establishing more predictable conditions for access
to genetic resources; Helping to ensure benefit-sharing when genetic resources
leave the contracting party providing the genetic resources. By helping to
ensure benefit-sharing, the Nagoya Protocol creates incentives to conserve and
sustainably use genetic resources, and therefore enhances the contribution of
biodiversity to development and human well-being.
The
Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants (adopted 2001; not yet
entered into force).
i. Objective: The Convention seeks to protect human
health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants (POPs).
ii. Control Measures: The Convention includes:
various measures to eliminate releases of chemicals from intentional production
and; measures to reduce or eliminate releases of chemicals from unintentional
production and measures to reduce or eliminate releases from stockpiles and
wastes of including handling, collecting, transporting or storing chemicals
iv. Implementation: Article 7 sets out the provisions
for implementing the Convention. Each Party must, within two years of the
Convention's entry into force, establish a plan of action as its implementation
plan.
The United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit was a
major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June
1992.
Ten years later, Earth Summit 2002 informally
nicknamed Rio+10 was held in Johannesburg, South Africa with the goal of again
bringing together leaders from government, business and NGOs to agree on a
range of measures toward similar goals. At Rio+10, sustainable development was
recognized as an overarching goal for institutions at the national, regional
and international levels. There, the need to enhance the integration of
sustainable development in the activities of all relevant United Nations
agencies, programs and funds was highlighted. The discussion also encompassed
the role of institutions in stepping up efforts to bridge the gap between the
international financial institutions and the multilateral development banks and
the rest of the UN system.
In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development was also held in Rio, and is also commonly called Rio+20 or Rio
Earth Summit 2012.
Agenda -21
In the 1980's the UN set up the World Commission on
Environment and Development, also called the Brundtland Commission. They
produced "Our Common Future", otherwise known as the Brundtland
Report, which framed much of what would become the 40 chapters of Agenda 21 and
the 27 principles of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development. It
defined sustainable development as development which;
“meets the needs of present generations without
compromising the ability of future generations
to meet their own needs”
Agenda 21 was
one of five documents produced:
- the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
- a statement of principles to guide sustainable management of forests
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- The Convention on Biological Diversity
- Agenda 21
Agenda 21 is the plan to implement the agreements of
Rio. It guides business and government policies into the 21st century. It
identifies population, consumption and technology as the primary driving forces
of environmental change and proposes what needs to be done to reduce wasteful
and inefficient consumption patterns in some parts of the world while carefully
managing natural resources.
The
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), known
informally as the Biodiversity Convention, is an international legally binding
treaty. The Convention has three main goals:
-conservation of biological diversity (or
biodiversity);
-sustainable use of its components; and
-fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising from
genetic resources
In other words, its objective is to develop national
strategies for the conservation and sustainable use of biological diversity. It
is often seen as the key document regarding sustainable development. The
Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro on 5
June 1992 and entered into force on 29 December 1993.2010 was the International
Year of Biodiversity. The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity
is the focal point for the International Year of Biodiversity. At the 2010 10th
Conference of Parties (COP) to the Convention on Biological Diversity in
October in Nagoya, Japan, the Nagoya Protocol was adopted. On 22 December 2010,
the UN declared the period from 2011 to 2020 as the UN-Decade on Biodiversity.
They, hence, followed a recommendation of the CBD signatories during COP10 at
Nagoya in October 2010.
UNFCCC: The United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental
treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit.The objective of the
treaty is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at
a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the
climate system. (Note: please note down that UNFCCC is a treaty and UNCED is a
conference; the treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions
for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. In that sense,
the treaty is considered legally non-binding. Instead, the treaty provides a
framework for negotiating specific international treaties (called
"protocols") that may set binding limits on greenhouse gases.)
Parties to UNFCCC are
classified as:
·
Annex I countries: industrialized countries and
economies in transition
·
Annex II countries: developed countries which pay
for costs of developing countries
·
Non Annex I countries: Developing countries.
Annex I countries which
have ratified the Protocol have committed to reduce their emission levels of
greenhouse gasses to targets that are mainly set below their 1990 levels. They
may do this by allocating reduced annual allowances to the major operators
within their borders. These operators can only exceed their allocations if
they buy emission allowances, or
offset their excesses through a mechanism that is agreed by all the parties to
UNFCCC.
Annex II countries are a
sub-group of the Annex I countries. They comprise the OECD members,
excluding those that were economies in transition in
1992.
Developing countries are
not required to reduce emission levels unless developed countries supply enough
funding and technology. Setting no immediate restrictions under UNFCCC serves
three purposes:
·
it avoids restrictions on their development,
because emissions are strongly linked to industrial capacity
·
they can sell emissions credits to nations whose
operators have difficulty meeting their emissions targets
·
They get money and technologies for low-carbon
investments from Annex II countries.
Developing countries may
volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.
Recent COP/MOP (for Kyoto protocol)
- 2009: COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark
- 2010: COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico
- 2011: COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa
- 2012: COP 18/MOP 8, Doha, Qatar
The nations pledge "policy approaches and
positive incentives" on issues relating to reducing emissions from
deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in developing countries; and
enhancement of forest carbon stock in developing countries This paragraph is
referred to as “REDD-plus”
The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is a protocol to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) that set
binding obligations on the industrialised countries to reduce their emissions
of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with
the goal of achieving the "stabilisation of greenhouse
gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system."[5]
The Protocol was initially
adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on 16
February 2005. As of September 2011, 191 states have signed and
ratified the protocol.[6] The only remaining signatory not
to have ratified the protocol is the United States. Other United Nations member
states which did not ratify the protocol are Afghanistan, Andorra and South
Sudan. In December 2011, Canada withdrew from the Protocol.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, 37
industrialized countries and the European Community[ (the
European Union-15, made up of 15 states at the time of the Kyoto negotiations)
("Annex I Parties") commit themselves to limit or reduce their
emissions of four greenhouse gases (GHG) (carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, sulphur hexafluoride) and two
groups of gases (hydrofluorocarbons and perfluorocarbons). All
member countries give general commitments.
At negotiations, Annex I
countries (including the US) collectively agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions by 5.2% on average for the period 2008-2012. This reduction is
relative to their annual emissions in a base year, usually 1990. Since the US
has not ratified the treaty, the collective emissions reduction of Annex I
Kyoto countries falls from 5.2% to 4.2% below base year. Emission limits do not
include emissions by international aviation and shipping, but are in addition
to the industrial gases, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, which are dealt
with under the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone
Layer.
What is the clean development
mechanism?
The CDM allows
emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission
reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2.
These CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to
a meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
The mechanism stimulates
sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized
countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction limitation
targets.
The CDM is the main source of
income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund, which was established to finance
adaptation projects and programmes in developing country Parties to the Kyoto
Protocol that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate
change
The clean development mechanism
was designed to meet a dual objective:
- to help developed countries fulfill their
commitments to reduce emissions, and
- to assist developing countries in
achieving sustainable development.
CDM projects earn tradable,
saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits that can be used by
industrialised countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets
under the Kyoto Protocol.
Benefits of CDM projects include
investment in climate change mitigation projects in developing countries,
transfer or diffusion of technology in the host countries, as well as
improvement in the livelihood of communities through the creation of employment
or increased economic activity. This page serves to highlight where and how
this occurs across the globe.
Issuance Certified Emission
Reductions (CERs)
Issuance of CERs refers to the
instruction by the Executive Board to the CDM registry administrator to issue a
specified quantity of CERs for a project activity into the pending account of
the Executive Board in the CDM registry, in accordance with paragraph 66 and
Appendix D of the CDM modalities and procedures.
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