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♤ Its objective is to facilitate, promote and enforce compliance with the commitments under the Protocol.
♤ Stimulate sustainable development through technology transfer and investment
♤ Help countries with Kyoto commitments to meet their targets by reducing emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere in other countries in a cost-effective way
♤ Encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts
Joint Implementation:
♤ The mechanism known as “joint implementation”, allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party - developed country) to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target.
♤ Joint implementation offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of fulfilling a part of their Kyoto commitments, while the host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer.
♤ Projects starting as from the year 2000 may be eligible as JI projects, ERU issued from 2008
Clean Development mechanism:
♤ The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission- limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries.
♤ It is the first global, environmental investment and credit scheme of its kind, providing standardized emissions offset instrument, CERs
♤ Such projects can earn saleable certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting Kyoto targets.
Example
♤ A CDM project activity might involve, for example, a rural electrification project using solar panels or the installation of more energy-efficient boilers. The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission
reduction or limitation targets.
♤ Most of the CDM projects were implemented in China and India as climate in these countries is favorable for implementing projects for almost all the spheres such as Agriculture, Waste handling and disposal, Afforestation and reforestation. Such CDM projects are also to be supported by the approval of Annex B countries -those which have quantified obligations according Kyoto Protocol.
Carbon Trading:
♤ Carbon trading is the name given to the exchange of emission permits. This exchange may take place within the economy or may take the form of international transaction.
♤ Two types of Carbon trading:
1. Emission trading and
2. Offset trading.
Emission trading/ ‘cap-and-trade’,
♤ Emission permit is known alternatively as carbon credit. For each Annex I country, the protocol has assigned a fixed amount of carbon emission in the agreement. This amount is actually the amount of emission which is to be reduced by the concerned country.
♤ On the other hand, it implies that the country was permitted to emit the remaining amount. This emission allowance is actually one kind of carbon credit.
♤ The total amount of allowance is then subdivided into certain units. The units are expressed in terms of carbon-equivalent. Each unit gives the owner the right to emit one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or other equivalent green-house gases.
Offset Trading/ Carbon Project/ ‘baseline-and credit’ trading:
♤ Another variant of carbon credit is to be earned by a country by investing some amount of money in such projects, known as carbon projects, which will emit lesser amount of green-house gas in the atmosphere.
♤ For example, suppose a thermal plant of 800 megawatt capacity emit 400 carbon-equivalent in the atmosphere. Now a country builds up a 800 megawatt wind energy plant which does not generate any amount of emission as an alternative of the thermal plant. Then by investing in this project the country will earn 400 carbon-equivalent.
♤ According to an estimate made by the World Bank’s Carbon Finance Unit, volume of carbon trade through Emission Trading route alone had shown a 240 percent increase in 2005 over the previous year.
Benefits of Flexible Market Mechanisms
♤ This has the parallel benefits of stimulating green investment in developing countries and of including the private sector in this endeavour to cut and hold steady GHG emissions at a safe level.
♤ It also makes “leap-frogging” more economical that is, the possibility to skip older, dirtier technology for newer, cleaner infrastructure and systems, with obvious longer-term benefits.
♤ The Kyoto Protocol compliance mechanism is designed to strengthen the Protocol’s environmental integrity, support the carbon market’s credibility and ensure transparency of accounting by Parties.
Do you know?
One of the unique features of the Rock pythons of India is that they can raise their body temperature above the ambient level, through muscular contractions. Rock python of India is an endangered species. The reason for this is that it is killed for its fine skin, meat and even for medicinal purposes.