RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CDM REFORM: END CLIMATE FINANCE FOR COAL POWER

Carbon Market Watch asserts that the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) undermines climate goals by allowing new coal power plants to earn emissions credits for efficiency improvements. The organization argues that these projects are not 'additional' because efficiency is driven by fuel cost minimization, not CDM support, leading to a net increase in global greenhouse gas emissions. The paper highlights the severe human and ecological costs of coal, citing high mortality rates in India and China, and calls for the UNFCCC to follow the lead of the Norwegian and British governments by ending CDM support for coal and other large-scale power projects.

• New coal power plants in the CDM pipeline are projected to emit over 4 billion tonnes of CO2 by 2020 and could generate more than 500 million offset credits in that timeframe.
• Coal power projects in the CDM are not 'additional' because plants are built for efficiency to reduce fuel costs regardless of CDM credits, meaning these offsets result in a net increase in global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The human and environmental costs of coal are significant, including 100,000 premature deaths in India in 2012 and over 31,000 miner deaths in China between 2000 and 2006.
• The CDM's overall integrity is questioned, with research suggesting it may have delivered only 40% of the emission reductions it sold as offsets, largely due to the inclusion of non-additional large-scale power projects.

APA

Carbon Market Watch (2013). RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CDM REFORM: END CLIMATE FINANCE FOR COAL POWER. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RECOMMENDATIONS-FOR-THE-CDM-REFORM-web..pdf

Chicago

Carbon Market Watch. RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CDM REFORM: END CLIMATE FINANCE FOR COAL POWER. 2013. https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RECOMMENDATIONS-FOR-THE-CDM-REFORM-web..pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Carbon Market Watch |title=RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CDM REFORM: END CLIMATE FINANCE FOR COAL POWER |date=November 2013 |url=https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RECOMMENDATIONS-FOR-THE-CDM-REFORM-web..pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{carbonmarketwatch2013recommendations, author = {{Carbon Market Watch}}, title = {{RECOMMENDATIONS FOR THE CDM REFORM: END CLIMATE FINANCE FOR COAL POWER}}, publisher = {Carbon Market Watch}, year = {2013}, month = nov, url = {https://carbonmarketwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/RECOMMENDATIONS-FOR-THE-CDM-REFORM-web..pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }