Recommendations for appeals against decisions of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism

The document argues that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) requires a robust appeals procedure to ensure accountability, human rights protection, and climate integrity. Carbon Market Watch recommends that the scope of appeals cover both positive and negative decisions, be open to a broad definition of affected stakeholders beyond project proponents, and address both procedural and substantive violations. The statement emphasizes that public participation and access to administrative proceedings are essential for verifying that projects result in real greenhouse gas reductions without adverse social or environmental impacts.

• The appeals procedure must be broad enough to cover both positive and negative decisions of the CDM Board, including approvals following review and decisions to register projects or issue Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
• Access to the appeals process should be extended to a broad range of affected stakeholders and civil society, rather than being limited to project proponents or those living in the immediate vicinity of a project.
• Grounds for appeal should encompass both procedural violations—such as failure to conduct environmental impact assessments or invite stakeholder participation—and substantive challenges regarding a project's baseline, additionality, and contribution to sustainable development.
• The current narrow scope of the appeals procedure, which only assesses compliance with CDM modalities, fails to address social and environmental impacts that violate national or international norms; therefore, a separate grievance mechanism is needed for impacts occurring during project implementation.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2016). Recommendations for appeals against decisions of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/FINAL-CMW_Position_CDM-appeals-procedure.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. Recommendations for appeals against decisions of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism. 2016. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/FINAL-CMW_Position_CDM-appeals-procedure.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=Recommendations for appeals against decisions of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism |date=May 2016 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/FINAL-CMW_Position_CDM-appeals-procedure.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2016recommendations, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{Recommendations for appeals against decisions of the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2016}, month = may, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/FINAL-CMW_Position_CDM-appeals-procedure.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }