Environment and Ecology

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 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 42^nd 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:

1. the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development
2. a statement of principles to guide sustainable management of forests
3. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
4. The Convention on Biological Diversity
5. 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)

1. 2009: COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark
2. 2010: COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico
3. 2011: COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa
4. 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.