Climate Talks Lag on CDM Reform

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | Mechanics of curbing climate change
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7444881.stm

Negotiators from more than 172 countries are meeting in Bonn to hammer out a deal that may culminate in a new global climate agreement. In this week's Green Room, UN climate chief Yvo de Boer argues that negotiators want to see more of the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism, not less...

While the climate crisis continues to deepen, political leaders continue to delay real changes in policy that will make a difference. One case in point is the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which allows heavy polluters to pay firms, mostly in the developing world, to reduce their GHG emissions in return for carbon credits. Sounds like a good idea? Maybe, if in fact, the investments really do result in additional real reductions in emissions that would not have otherwise have been achieved without the CDM agreements. But the current system is so lax, that many of these investments may not bring the real reductions they promise. Countries need to find the political will to make sure that CDM really works as advertised before expanding the system in any post-Kyoto agreement.