Open letter to UNFCCC Heads of Delegations on ending the CDM

The document argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) should be terminated by 2020 to prevent it from undermining the Paris Agreement. The authors claim the CDM encourages a 'zero-sum game' that hinders domestic climate action, has increased global emissions due to 'junk' credits, and has led to human rights violations and inequitable benefit distribution.

• The CDM is described as a zero-sum game that discourages domestic climate action and the transition to zero-carbon sectors by allowing entities to emit while counting reductions elsewhere.
• The use of CDM credits has reportedly increased global greenhouse gas emissions, specifically contributing to an increase of approximately 580 million tonnes of CO2 within the EU Emissions Trading System.
• The environmental integrity of the CDM is questioned, with the claim that only 2% of its projects are likely to have such integrity, while the majority issue 'junk' credits that do not result in real emission reductions.
• CDM projects have been linked to human rights violations, including the displacement of local communities and the exploitation of land, as exemplified by the Barro Blanco hydrodam project.
• The benefits of the CDM have been distributed inequitably, with the majority of credits issued in fewer than five countries, leaving the most vulnerable and least developed countries with minimal profit.

APA

Turhan, E., Ervine, K., Killoh, S., Killoh, J., Killoh, J., Schreiber, L., Soland, K., Spörri, P., Salmi, A., Gomes, F., Heiss, V., Üstel, Ö., English, L., & Hirsig, S. (2018). Open letter to UNFCCC Heads of Delegations on ending the CDM. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-unfccc-heads-of-delegations-on-ending-the-cdm/

Chicago

Turhan, Ethemcan, Kate Ervine, Sarah Killoh, June Killoh, Jamie Killoh, Leah Schreiber, Katia Soland, et al. Open letter to UNFCCC Heads of Delegations on ending the CDM. Carbon Market Watch, 2018. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-unfccc-heads-of-delegations-on-ending-the-cdm/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Turhan |first1=Ethemcan |last2=Ervine |first2=Kate |last3=Killoh |first3=Sarah |last4=Killoh |first4=June |last5=Killoh |first5=Jamie |last6=Schreiber |first6=Leah |last7=Soland |first7=Katia |last8=Spörri |first8=Peter |last9=Salmi |first9=Annika |display-authors=etal |title=Open letter to UNFCCC Heads of Delegations on ending the CDM |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=4 December 2018 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-unfccc-heads-of-delegations-on-ending-the-cdm/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{turhan2018open, author = {Turhan, Ethemcan and Ervine, Kate and Killoh, Sarah and Killoh, June and Killoh, Jamie and Schreiber, Leah and Soland, Katia and Spörri, Peter and Salmi, Annika and Gomes, Fernanda and Heiss, Valentina and Üstel, Özgür and English, Lannen and Hirsig, Sabine}, title = {{Open letter to UNFCCC Heads of Delegations on ending the CDM}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2018}, month = dec, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/open-letter-to-unfccc-heads-of-delegations-on-ending-the-cdm/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }