CDM Reform: Improving the Efficiency and Outreach of the Clean Development Mechanism through Standardization

This technical document argues that the 2010 Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) 6 decision to introduce the concept of standardized sectoral baselines into the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and extended at CMP 7 in 2011 (Durban, South Africa), could also have a substantial impact on the further evolution of the CDM and its regulation. It is argued that this impact could be even more meaningful if the standardization could be broadened beyond the setting of baselines and applied to the requirements of CDM procedures and project cycle. The study suggests that the current body of procedures and the project cycle of the CDM still contain some serious bottlenecks that prevent the efficient and robust assessment of the projects applying for carbon crediting. Tackling these bottlenecks through the use of standardized assessments, avoiding double-checks, and increasing the predictability of the process, can have an important positive impact on the efficiency of the CDM.