You talked about public-private partnership. I believe that is the key in this whole process. Instead of providing funds to big companies, which can afford to install clean technologies on their own, priority should be given to projects which engage the public and the private sector, which help bring prosperity to the people, which do not have any adverse environmental impacts.

Approving a biomass plant, a wind farm or a waste recycling system for a village or small town in collaboration with some NGO which could integrate local people into the project thus creating jobs is far better than funding the eco-friendly braking system in the DMRC trains which can be operated even without that funding.

I totally agree with you on the public-private partnership and that multinational companies should not be approved under CDM. But my views differ from yours about the DMRC issue.

The Metro project was conceived more than 20 years ago and the Delhi government would have gone ahead with it anyway. Every city revamps its transport system in preparation for Commonwealth/Olympic Games. DMRC has got millions of dollars in funding from Japan, it is one of the only few metro services in the world that makes profits and it gets many tax waivers from the government too.

Instead of approving DMRC for selling carbon credits why not fund a small wind/solar energy project in a village which has no electricity for years and generate job opportunities for locals.

Illustratively, look at the MSW situation in India, the rules have been framed in 2000 by the Government, but its implementation is tardy. Now that a few projects have been registered with CDM, large number of projects are being taken for implementation in the country. It has promoted the public private partnership.

Look at another angle – waste management. There are several technologies available which need promotion, especially in the CETP area. The cycle time for acceptance of new technologies is very large, and it needs to be reduced to reduce the GHG emissions. CDM is certainly a tool for promoting for increasing the pace of acceptance of new technologies.

Energy Efficiency is another example – look at the simple example for moving from standard motors to variable frequency drives to reduce the electricity consumption. The pace has been slow. In India it is BAU now, after several years of introduction.

There are several examples. I strongly believe that DMRC is a good example of a project being registered the carbon credits.

However, I believe that projects implemented by subsidiaries of multinational companies in the developing countries should not be eligible for CDM. Since they have access to the latest technologies, alternatively their additionality assessment should be based on global practices, rather than the local practices where the project is being implemented.

I took the example of the Delhi Metro. I think the DMRC would be able to continue to use that eco-friendly braking system even if it stopping selling carbon credits from it; DMRC is making very healthy profit.

I also agree with some other criticism against the current procedure of approving projects. The Nigerian government stopped the illegal gas flaring but wants to sell carbon credits for doing so. Why should they be awarded the CDM approval for stopping something which is illegal.

Similarly, many oil companies around the world switched to efficient practices and are now selling carbon credits. We all know that oil companies have had a dream run as far as profits are concerned. Why should they be given any monetary help if they are in a financial condition to afford those technologies.

I believe CDM's first and fore most priority should be poor nations and not the big developing nations like India, China (who have huge foreign reserves and thus no lack of funds). Plus, the projects which use only renewable sources for energy generation should be part of the mechanism, oil companies should not be the priorities.

I'm thankful for your interest in my article. I would love to hear back from you and increase my knowledge about CDM through your views.

Thank you for your interest in the CDM. That said, I am struggling to find the basis for much of what you have written, including the title and opening paragraph. I would appreciate hearing from you, and I stand ready to assist in any of your future stories.

Regards,

David Abbass

Public Information Officer, CDM