Abstract
This study addresses a methodology flaw of Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) that neglects the wide-spread electricity shortage in the developing countries. The impact of this neglect is huge: about half of the annual carbon credits from the projects registered by 2010 are from the on-grid electricity displacement projects, and the majority of them had concentrated in several countries where electricity shortage remains severe and lasting. In the context of widespread energy shortage, the extra electricity produced by the CDM projects is more likely to be used to provide extra electricity supply rather than substitute the Business-as-usual (BAU) electricity supply. Hence, the neglect of the wide-spread energy shortage in the CDM methods puts the integrity of a critical amount of the CDM carbon credit in question.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ball, J. (2008). UN effort to curtail emissions in turmoil. Wall Street Journal, A1. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120796372237309757.html.
Castro, P. (2008) Empirical analysis of performance of CDM projects: Case study China discussion paper CDM-6. Zurich, Switzerland: University of Zurich, Institute of Political Science. http://www.climatestrategies.org/research/our-reports/category/39/167.html Accessed June 24, 2011.
Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board (CDM EB). (2009). Tool to calculate the emission factor for an electricity system Version2. http://cdm.unfccc.int/Reference/tools/ls/meth_tool07_v01_1.pdf. Accessed June, 20 2011.
Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board (CDM EB). (2010). CDM methodologies. http://cdm.unfccc.int/methodologies/index.html. Accessed June 24, 2011.
de Gouvello, C. D., Dayo, F. B., & Thioye, M. (2008). Low-carbon energy projects for development in sub-saharan African unveiling the potential, addressing the barriers. Washington, DC: World Bank.
Guruswamy, D., & Hendricks, R. (2007). International environmental law in a nutshell. St. Paul, MN: Thomson/West.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). (2007). Summary for policymakers. In: Climate change 2007: The physical science basis. New York: Cambridge University Press.
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2007). World energy outlook 2007. Paris: IEA.
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2009). World energy outlook 2009. Paris: IEA.
International Energy Agency (IEA). (2010). World energy outlook 2010. Paris: IEA.
Michaelowa, A., & Puohit, P. (2007). Additionality determination of Indian CDM projects. Can Indian CDM project developers outwit the CDM EXecutive Board? (Discussion paper CDM-1, Climate Strategies, London, 2007). http://www.noe21.org/docs/Michaelowa-teripress-2007. Accessed August 29, 2011.
National Bureau of Statistics of China. (2011). China statistical yearbook 2011. Beijing, China: China Statistics press.
Schneider, L. (2007). Is the CDM fulfilling its environmental and sustainable development objective? An evaluation of the CDM and options for improvement (Report prepared for WWF by Oko Institut, Berlin 2007). http://www.oekoinstitut.de/oekodoc/622/2007-162-en.pdf. Accessed August 28, 2011.
Tollefson, J. (2008). Carbon-trading market has uncertain future. Nature, 452, 3 April.
United Nations. (1998). Kyoto protocol to the United Nations framework convention on climate change. http://unfccc.int/resource/docs/convkp/kpeng.pdf Accessed April 19, 2011.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2004–2010). Project search[online database]. http://cdm.unfccc.int/Projects/projsearch.html. Accessed August 28, 2011.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). (2012). CDM development benefits. http://cdm.unfccc.int/about/ccb/index.html. Accessed July 14, 2012.
U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). (2011). International energy statistics. http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/IEDIndex3.cfm?tid=90&pid=44&aid=8. Accessed December 5, 2012.
Watanabe, R., et al. (2008). The Bali roadmap for global climate policy-new horizons and old pitfalls (Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, 2008). http://www.indiaenvironmentportal.org.in/files/Jun08-Bali_Roadmap_JEEPL.pdf. Accessed August 29, 2011.
Zhang, Z., & Wang, C. (2010). Co-benefits and additionality of the clean development mechanism: An empirical analysis. SSRN Working Paper Series. http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1530848. Accessed February 26, 2010.
Zhu, J. (2012). The correlated factors of the uneven performances of the CDM host countries. Environmental Research Letters, 7 (1). doi:10.1088/1748-9326/7/1/014015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Appendix
Appendix
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Zhu, J., Tang, Y. The design flaw of the displacement principle of clean development mechanism: the neglect of electricity shortage. Eur J Law Econ 40, 367–391 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-012-9374-8
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10657-012-9374-8