Concerns about Climate Change Mitigation Projects: Summary of Findings from Case211 Studies in Brazil, India, Mexico, and South Africa

摘要

The concept of joint implementation as a way to implement climate change211u001emitigation projects in another country has been controversial ever since its 211u001einception. Developing countries have raised numerous issues at the project-211u001especific technical level, and broader concerns having to do with equity and 211u001eburden sharing. This paper summarizes the findings of studies for Brazil, India, 211u001eMexico and South Africa, four countries that have large greenhouse gas emissions 211u001eand are heavily engaged in the debate on climate change projects under the Kyoto 211u001eProtocol. The studies examine potential or current projects/programs to determine 211u001ewhether eight technical concerns about joint implementation can be adequately 211u001eaddressed. They conclude that about half the concerns were minor or well managed 211u001eby project developers, but concerns about additionality of funds, host country 211u001einstitutions and guarantees of performance (including the issues of baselines and 211u001epossible leakage) need much more effort to be adequately addressed. All the 211u001epapers agree on the need to develop institutional arrangements for approving and 211u001emonitoring such projects in each of the countries represented. The case studies 211u001eillustrate that these projects have the potential to bring new technology, 211u001einvestment, employment, and ancillary socioeconomic and environmental benefits to 211u001edeveloping countries. These benefits are consistent with the goal of sustainable 211u001edevelopment in the four study countries. At a policy level, the studies' authors 211u001enote that in their view, the Annex I countries should consider limits on the use 211u001eof jointly implemented projects as a way to get credits against their own 211u001eemissions at home, and stress the importance of industrialized countries 211u001edeveloping new technologies that will benefit all countries. The authors also 211u001eobserve that if all countries accepted caps on their emissions (with a longer 211u001etime period allowed for developing countries to do so) project-based GHG 211u001emitigation would be significantly facilitated by the improved private investment 211u001eclimate.