Clean Development Mechanism

In this paper, we present an overview of guidelinesdeveloped for the monitoring, evaluation, reporting,verification, and certification (MERVC) ofenergy-efficiency projects for climate changemitigation. The monitoring and evaluation ofenergy-efficiency projects is needed to determine moreaccurately their impact on greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions and other attributes, and to ensure that theglobal climate is protected and that countryobligations are met. Reporting, verification andcertification will be

The paper examines environmental management accounting as a tool that supports environmental investment decision-making in the context of the emerging markets for carbonised rice husk and the clean development mechanism. Based on a case study at Oliver Enterprises, a rice milling business in the Philippines, the paper analyses carbonisation and cogeneration as two processing alternatives to reduce environmental and social impacts related to the conventional way of rice husk disposal and to improve the overall performance of the rice mill. Implications for corporations and for policy decision-making are examined.

Climate policies and ethics have been crucial aspects of distributive justice in climate change. Atmosphere, being the global common, requires a global agreement on mitigation and adaptation to climate change. But such agreements face ethical issues that are prone to moral corruption(Gardiner, 2011). In the words of Stephen Gardiner (2006), climate change is a “perfect moral storm”. Ethical issues like commoditization of the social and environmental values via carbon reduction markets, intergenerational ethics, sustainability, etc have been studied in this paper, concerning the transition in climate regime from Kyoto Protocol to Paris Agreement. The climate agreement’s evaluation is based on ethical values.
The paper analyses and compares the ethical perspectives of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Sustainable Development Mechanism (SDM). It has been observed in the study that the policy transition cannot bridge the climate change gap without safeguards for human rights, gender equality, inter/intra-generation equity, etc. The Paris Agreement provides a new shell of sustainability to carbon markets of the Kyoto Protocol, but the market mechanism remains the same in principle. Recommendations have been proposed which shall enhance the climate change mitigation efforts and build policy safeguards. As the parameters defining the SDM are not finalized yet, reforms are proposed to be incorporated from the experiences and shortcomings of CDM.

Te main objective of this work is to investigate what are the costs and risks involved in implementing Afforestation and Reforestations Projects (ARPs), especially within the scope of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as well as exploring its main constraints and eventual solutions. In order to do that, this essay is divided in three main sections. In the first section are considered the general guidelines for ARPs within CDM, focusing on the distribution of projects registered in the mechanism and the general constrains for their implementation. In the second section it is analyzed in more detail the specific economic factors accounting for the costs, risks and profitability of ARPs. The third section focuses on a specific case of ARP implemented in an area of grazing lands in Santo Domingo, north of Argentina.

This research work seeks to design and develop an oxyhydrogen generator for HHO gas production. Key parameters considered in this study include electrode area, electrodes spacing, electrode surface conditioning, and electrode configuration as well as the efficiency of the generator. The constructed generator consisted of 26 plates made up of 3 anodes, 3 cathodes and 20 neutral plates with each having dimension of 10cm x 10 cm. The adjacent plates was spaced at a distance of 2 mm. The efficiency of the constructed generator was evaluated using0.01 M-0.03 M strengths of KOH at a constant voltage of 13 V. The Results showed an optimum efficiency of 11.9 % when the HHO generator was run using 0.02 M KOH at 13 V for 1 hour.Highlights: 1. Designing an HHO generator 2. Development of an HHO generator 3. Determination of the efficiency of an HHO generator using KOH as a catalyst

China is experiencing rapid and large scale urbanization, and the resulting local and global urban environmental challenges are unprecedented. The Chinese Government has fully recognized these challenges and is aiming to promote more sustainable urbanization in line with the objectives of the eleventh five year plan, which calls for 'building a resource-conserving and environmentally friendly society'. Various initiatives are being pursued to support this objective, both at the national and local levels. At the local level, cities have responded by developing 'eco-cities', which aim to promote a more sustainable urbanization model. More than one hundred eco-city initiatives have been launched in recent years. One such initiative is the Sino-Singapore Tianjin eco-city. The purpose of this report is to review the Sino-Singapore Tianjin Eco-City (SSTEC) project from a comprehensive perspective with a view to achieving the following principal objectives: (i) create a det...

The use of carbon-base fuels by diesel engines release gases such as CO, NOx, SO2, and THCs which constitute a major source of environmental pollution. These gases when released into the atmosphere result in the formation of acid rain and cause greenhouse effect. In the present study, an experiment was carried out with and without the use of HHO gas. The concentrations of the emitted gases were measured using an E8500 Plus gas analyzer. The results showed that the average concentrations of carbon monoxide (CO), total unburnt hydrocarbons (THCs), oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and sulphur dioxide (SO2) emitted from the combustion chamber of the test engine was decreased by 68.8%, 35.2%, 16.4% and 97.9% respectively when a mixture of HHO gas/petrol/air was used instead of petrol/air mixture in an internal combustion engine. However, the average concentration of oxygen (O2) gas increased by 1.7%. Copyright © 2019 IJASRD. This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Common Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. HIGHLIGHTS 1) Production of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. 2) Production of HHO gas using KOH as catalyst. 3) Measurement of HHO gas flow rate. 4) Modification of the petrol engine using a proton exchange membrane fuel cell. 5) Determination of performance of HHO gas on emission characteristics of a petrol engine.

Carbon trading, as a market-based climate policy that allows polluters to comply with emissions reductions commitments with tradable pollution rights, is presented by its proponents as the most cost-efficient alternative for climate change mitigation, while critics counter that the cost-efficiency argument ignores the harms that result from commodifying carbon. This thesis contributes to this debate, which is fundamental for the future of environmental policies, by exposing the social costs of carbon trading and making the case against its inclusion in the climate policy-mix. The argument developed here draws from theoretical contributions on the social costs of private activities and on value conflicts, as well as critical perspectives on the neoliberalization of nature and the limits of the market.
Emissions trading was firstly proposed as an alternative to efficiency-maximizing or pigouvian environmental taxation. Based on the property rights approach to social costs, emissions trading would allow regulators to escape the impossible task of calculating the optimal level of pollution and offer instead a cost-efficient way to achieve an exogenously determined level of pollution. This theoretical shift would allow economics to be centred on discussing the best means to achieve given ends and relived it of discussing ends. The ends-means dichotomy, however, does not hold outside textbook economics, as well as the description of emissions trading as a simple and efficient alternative to direct regulation. As the US experience with emissions trading shows, creating markets for tradable pollution rights requires government investment in a regulatory apparatus that is no less complex than what is required for direct regulation or taxation. This experience also illustrates how the purported efficiency of emissions trading systems is a flip side of their weak environmental performance and their disregard for social justice and democratic participation.
Carbon trading schemes created under the Kyoto Protocol raise additional problems. Compared to “cap and trade” schemes based on a single pollutant and a restricted number of sources, schemes like the EU Emissions Trading System are more complex and require further government intervention. Furthermore, flexibility instruments like the Clean Development Mechanism allow industrialized countries to pollute beyond their emissions commitments and raise issues with the disputable integrity of methodologies that account for emissions reductions from offset projects relative to an arbitrary baseline. The dismal performance of these schemes is illustrated by their inability to provide an incentive to decarbonization, while distributing rents to polluters and creating new sources of corruption.
These issues are not reducible to discussions on accounting procedures and other technicalities. Opening the “black box” of carbon quantification and commensuration reveals that its calculations sideline relevant uncertainties and assume a degree of accuracy that scientific knowledge and technology cannot deliver in the present. Yet, since accounting for emissions increases or reductions requires political decisions on what is to be accounted for, what is the relevant metric and what is an acceptable degree of uncertainty, further scientific and technological developments are not enough to make it possible to produce the unambiguous numbers that carbon trading requires.
Going further on the discussion of the implications of carbon commensuration and abstraction, this thesis presents an argument against the inclusion of carbon trading in the climate policy-mix based on four normative critiques. With the support of critical literature, it is argued that carbon trading is ineffective, undemocratic, unjust and unethical and that, for these reasons, it can only be considered as a cost-effective policy when its social costs are ignored. An argument against carbon trading reformism is then presented by illustrating how trying to mitigate the negative effects of carbon markets by imposing restrictions on trading leads to the erosion of these markets. A better alternative is claimed to be supporting climate policies that foster a plurality of values and deliver social benefits.
The thesis concludes by advocating a shift in the climate policy debate to a discussion on the values that are fostered or hindered by each policy. A general framework is proposed that respects value pluralism and acknowledges conflicts between incommensurable values, which is not compatible with market-based policies.

Local action is needed to tackle global environmental threats like climate change. Environmentalists use to say: Think global, act local! What does this mean in the context of international regimes? This book examines the interrelations between domestic politics and the effectiveness of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) ? a global regime that encourages industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and promote sustainability with projects in the developing world. A simple concept in theory, but the reality is complex and sometimes contradictory as this work reveals with experiences from the Philippines, India and China. Is the CDM an effective global regime? How do local and global actors interact? This book provides answers with both a qualitative and a quantitative analysis of renewable energy projects under the CDM. Four specific case studies give a deeper insight into the topic. International regimes theory will be combined with domestic politics to develop a new framework of multilevel interaction. Eventually, this work reveals major contradictions between theory and practice and it shows lessons learned to improve environmental regimes like the CDM.

Climate resilient cities : a primer on reducing vulnerabilities to disasters / N. Prasad, F. Ranghieri, F. Shah, Z. Trohanis, E. Kessler, R. Sinha. - Washington (DC) : World Bank Group Info Shop, 2009. - ISBN 978-0-8213-7766-6.. This Primer provides city administrators with ...

Le rôle joué par le gouvernement, les banques et les entreprises belges dans la ruée mondiale sur les terres est indéniable. C’est ce que dénoncent le CNCD-11.11.11, 11.11.11, AEFJN, Entraide & Fraternité, FIAN Belgique, Oxfam Solidarité et SOS Faim dans un rapport basé sur des cas précis pour étayer ce constat. Les ONG adressent des recommandations à la Belgique afin de lutter contre ce phénomène qui met en péril la vie de dizaines de millions de paysans.

« La Belgique finance des activités qui contreviennent à sa politique nationale de coopération et se rend complice d’acquisitions de terres à large échelle à travers des financements multilatéraux. Elle va à l’encontre de ses obligations en matière de droits humains et en matière de cohérence des politiques pour le développement  », indique Manuel Eggen de FIAN Belgique.

L’ampleur du phénomène est considérable : depuis 2000, plus de 200 millions d’hectares (65 fois la Belgique) sont concernés par les acquisitions de terres (5 000 à plus de 500 000 ha) dont une grande partie en Afrique. Les populations locales, dépendantes de l’agriculture, en sont les principales victimes. Cet engouement foncier s’explique par la raréfaction de la terre (croissance démographique, surconsommation, urbanisation) et par la valeur refuge que constitue la terre depuis la crise des valeurs boursières.

« Lutter contre ces acquisitions exigent l’adoption de mesures contraignantes et cohérentes à l’échelle des politiques belges et européennes concernées. La Belgique doit contrôler les activités financières et les entreprises liées à son pays. Elle doit aussi modifier les politiques énergétiques, agricoles et commerciales européennes qui favorisent le phénomène d’acquisition des terres » estime Stéphane Parmentier d’Oxfam Solidarité.

Le rapport met en avant plusieurs cas dans lesquels la Belgique joue un rôle primordial.