JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE RULES, MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM

A joint submission by 20 organizations arguing that the Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM) must avoid the systemic failures of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) by implementing strict human rights safeguards, ensuring a net decrease in global emissions, and establishing robust grievance and participation processes.

• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is criticized for systemic flaws, including the inability to prove that projects were 'additional'—meaning they would not have occurred without offset finance—which may have led to an increase in greenhouse gas emissions as developed countries continued to pollute.
• The CDM failed to provide equitable benefits to the countries most in need; approximately 75% of registered projects were concentrated in Brazil, China, India, and Mexico, while only 2% were in sub-Saharan Africa.
• There is documented evidence of ecological and human rights abuses linked to CDM projects, specifically citing the Bajo Aguán biogas project in Honduras, the Barro Blanco hydropower project in Panama, and the Sasan coal power project in India.
• To ensure a 'transformative approach,' the SDM must require that international transfers of carbon credits result in a net decrease in global emissions, meaning mitigation outcomes must exceed host country pledges and be partially canceled by the recipient country.
• The SDM should implement a 'negative list' of project types that are fundamentally contrary to sustainable development and therefore ineligible for inclusion.
• The submission recommends that the SDM establish international safeguard policies as a condition for project approval, a system for monitoring compliance with human rights obligations, and a grievance process aligned with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2016). JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE RULES, MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FINAL-Joint-SDM-Submission-17-Oct-2016.pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE RULES, MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM. 2016. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FINAL-Joint-SDM-Submission-17-Oct-2016.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE RULES, MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM |date=17 October 2016 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FINAL-Joint-SDM-Submission-17-Oct-2016.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2016joint, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{JOINT SUBMISSION ON THE RULES, MODALITIES AND PROCEDURES FOR THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2016}, month = oct, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/FINAL-Joint-SDM-Submission-17-Oct-2016.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }