Der Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – (ab)used by Germany?

The research paper analyzes Germany's engagement with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) up to July 2009, arguing that both the global mechanism and German state policy prioritize the quantity of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) over the quality of sustainable development. The author finds that German projects are heavily concentrated in Asia, particularly China and India, and are dominated by large-scale industrial 'end-of-pipe' projects that offer minimal sustainable development benefits. The document concludes that the German government uses the CDM primarily as a tool for economic and export promotion rather than as a means to achieve genuine climate and development goals, thereby 'abusing' the mechanism's original purpose.

• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is characterized as a 'zero-sum game' for the climate because it allows industrial countries to shift emissions spatially rather than achieving additional global reductions.
• Global CDM project distribution is highly unbalanced, with Asia and the Pacific accounting for approximately 78% of all proposed and registered projects as of July 1, 2009.
• Industrial 'end-of-pipe' projects, specifically those destroying HFC-23, PFCs, and N2O, generate a disproportionately high volume of CERs despite representing only 2% of all CDM projects.
• German CDM activities are heavily concentrated in Asia, with 83% of CERs and 78.3% of projects located in the Asia and Pacific region as of July 2009.
• The German project portfolio is dominated by two major buyers, RWE and KfW, who are together responsible for 79% of all CDM projects with German participation.
• A significant portion of German CERs are generated by projects with questionable additionality, particularly large-scale wind and hydropower projects in China.
• The 'Gold Standard', designed to ensure higher quality and sustainable development, remains a niche in the German portfolio, accounting for only 0.3% of CERs until 2012.
• German state steering through the CDM/JI Initiative focuses on economic and export promotion rather than qualitative climate goals, effectively treating sustainable development as a secondary objective.
• The German government's approach to the CDM is described as 'abusing' the mechanism by prioritizing the quantity of certificates over the quality of the projects and their contribution to sustainable development.
• The author notes a dangerous trend where the CDM may subsidize fossil fuel infrastructure, citing a PDD submitted by RWE in October 2009 for a coal-fired power plant in China.

APA

Jaeger, N. (2010). Der Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – (ab)used by Germany? Carbon Market Watch. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/nicola-jaeger_der-clean-development-mechanism-cdm-abused-by-germany2.pdf

Chicago

Jaeger, Nicola. Der Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – (ab)used by Germany? Carbon Market Watch, 2010. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/nicola-jaeger_der-clean-development-mechanism-cdm-abused-by-germany2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jaeger |first1=Nicola |title=Der Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – (ab)used by Germany? |publisher=Carbon Market Watch |date=2010 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/nicola-jaeger_der-clean-development-mechanism-cdm-abused-by-germany2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jaeger2010der, author = {Jaeger, Nicola}, title = {{Der Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – (ab)used by Germany?}}, institution = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2010}, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/nicola-jaeger_der-clean-development-mechanism-cdm-abused-by-germany2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }