Clean development mechanism passes milestone

read the press release on our website:

Kyoto Protocol clean development mechanism passes milestone 500th
registered project milestone

Bonn, 12 February 2007 – The Kyoto Protocol’s clean development mechanism
(CDM) registered its 500th project on Monday, an 8.75 megawatt wind farm in
Gujarat, India. The project is expected to reduce carbon dioxide emissions
by more than 15,300 tonnes annually.

“The 500th project is an exciting milestone, especially considering that
the Kyoto Protocol was ratified just two years ago and that a year ago less
than one hundred projects were registered. It’s testament to what can be
done when countries come together to find solutions to global problems,”
said Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The CDM is designed to stimulate sustainable development by allowing
countries with commitments under the Kyoto Protocol to fulfil part of their
commitments by investing in emission-reducing projects in developing
countries. The 499th project, for example, was a rural electrification
project in Uganda financed by the World Bank’s Prototype Carbon Fund and
involving Finland and the Netherlands.

CDM projects are being conducted in more than 40 countries and have so far
generated more than 31 million certified emission reduction (CER) units,
each equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas
responsible for global warming. The mechanism is anticipated as of today to
generate more than 1.8 billion CERs in the first commitment period of the
Kyoto Protocol to 2012 – equivalent to the combined annual emissions of
Canada, France, Spain and Switzerland.

“Market mechanisms, such as the CDM and emissions trading, are essential to
stimulate the green investment required to tackle climate change and move
to a low carbon economy,” said Mr. de Boer. The UNFCCC Executive Secretary
sees market mechanisms and innovative financial engineering as major
elements of any future international agreement on climate change.

“The CDM, a success in its own right, points the way for other mechanisms
that can leverage the power of economic incentives to achieve an
environmental goal, in this case reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” Mr. de
Boer said.

“Global warming was caused by humankind’s striving to make use of the
wealth of the planet; it can be solved by harnessing that same drive to
improve the well being of people in the developing world,” he said.

Registered Clean Development Mechanism projects by country

Country Number of Projects
Argentina 6
Armenia 2
Bangladesh 2
Bhutan 1
Bolivia 1
Brazil 88
Cambodia 1
Chile 14
China 37
Colombia 6
Costa Rica 2
Cyprus 2
Dominican Republic 1
Ecuador 8
Egypt 2
El Salvador 2
Fiji 1
Guatemala 5
Honduras 10
India 162
Indonesia 8
Israel 3
Jamaica 1
Malaysia 12
Mexico 73
Mongolia 1
Morocco 3
Nepal 2
Nicaragua 2
Nigeria 1
Pakistan 1
Panama 4
Papua New Guinea 1
Peru 3
Philippines 8
Republic of Korea 10
Republic of Moldova 3
South Africa 6
Sri Lanka 4
Tunisia 2
Uganda 1
Viet Nam 2

Certified emission reductions (CERs) issued for the above activities: > 31
million of their total expected 740 million CERs.

Another 950 projects are in the process of being registered, and are
expected to deliver an additional 1.1 billion CERs to 2012.

Note to journalists:
To arrange interviews, please contact Ms. Carrie Assheuer, Public
Information and Media Assistant: (+49-228) 815-1005
For further information, please contact: Mr. David Abbass, Public
Information Officer, CDM (+49-228) 815-1511; or
Mr. John Hay, Spokesperson, UNFCCC: (+49-172) 258-6944.
See also .

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