Rule consistency of grid emission factors published by CDM host country authorities

The report examines the consistency of grid emission factors (grid EFs) published by host country DNAs with CDM rules. It finds that most DNAs provide insufficient data for external verification and identifies overestimations of grid EFs and coal benchmarks in China and India. Specifically, it notes inconsistent sampling in China and the omission of non-CDM renewable plants in India's build margin calculations. The study estimates that these deficiencies led to an over-crediting of 11 million pre-2012 CERs for electricity-related projects in these two countries, representing approximately 2.5% of their total CER volume.

• Most documents provided by DNAs lack sufficient detail to allow external observers to determine if data was collected correctly, and there are clear signs that grid EFs and coal power plant benchmarks were overestimated in China and India.
• In China, sampling procedures for the build margin are inconsistent with the UNFCCC Tool; using the Tool's conservative default values would have reduced CER volumes for non-wind renewables and energy efficiency projects by up to 7% for 2007 and 2008 vintages.
• India's grid EF calculations omit non-CDM non-hydro renewable power plants from the build margin, which would reduce CER volumes by 3% for non-wind projects and 1.5% for wind projects if included.
• The study estimates that inconsistencies in grid EF calculations in China and India resulted in an over-crediting of 11 million pre-2012 CERs, which is about 2.5% of the total CER volume for electricity-related projects registered in those countries since 2007.

APA

Michaelowa, A. (2011). Rule consistency of grid emission factors published by CDM host country authorities. Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/rule-consistency-of-grid-emission-factors-published-by-cdm-host-country-authorities/

Chicago

Michaelowa, Axel. Rule consistency of grid emission factors published by CDM host country authorities. Carbon Market Watch, 2011. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/rule-consistency-of-grid-emission-factors-published-by-cdm-host-country-authorities/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Michaelowa |first1=Axel |title=Rule consistency of grid emission factors published by CDM host country authorities |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=14 February 2011 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/rule-consistency-of-grid-emission-factors-published-by-cdm-host-country-authorities/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{michaelowa2011rule, author = {Michaelowa, Axel}, title = {{Rule consistency of grid emission factors published by CDM host country authorities}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2011}, month = feb, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/publications/rule-consistency-of-grid-emission-factors-published-by-cdm-host-country-authorities/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }