Net Climate Change Mitigation of the Clean Development Mechanism

This research paper examines the net emissions impact of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), focusing on whether it achieves a net decrease in global greenhouse gas emissions or merely shifts the location of reductions.

• The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is designed to allow industrialized nations to purchase credits from developing nations to meet Kyoto Protocol targets, which in principle results in no net mitigation impact as it simply shifts where emission reductions occur.
• The net mitigation impact of the CDM depends largely on the additionality of large-scale power projects. If these projects are truly additional and operate beyond the credit issuance period, they reduce global emissions; however, if they are non-additional, they may increase global greenhouse gas emissions.
• The Cancun Agreements from the 2010 COP 16 session, and subsequent reiterations at COP 17 and COP 18, called for market-based mechanisms that ensure a net decrease or avoidance of global greenhouse gas emissions.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2014). Net Climate Change Mitigation of the Clean Development Mechanism. https://www.sei.org/publications/net-climate-change-mitigation-of-the-clean-development-mechanism/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Net Climate Change Mitigation of the Clean Development Mechanism. 2014. https://www.sei.org/publications/net-climate-change-mitigation-of-the-clean-development-mechanism/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Net Climate Change Mitigation of the Clean Development Mechanism |date=22 May 2014 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/net-climate-change-mitigation-of-the-clean-development-mechanism/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2014net, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Net Climate Change Mitigation of the Clean Development Mechanism}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2014}, month = may, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/net-climate-change-mitigation-of-the-clean-development-mechanism/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }