UN outlines plan for CDM crackdown

The Executive Board of the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has this week agreed to strengthen many of the standards and procedures that govern the controversial carbon offset scheme in an attempt to better ensure that only credible emission reduction projects are allowed to take part.

Following a scandal late last year that saw the CDM's top project verifier, Det Norske Veritas (DNV), suspended from checking emission reduction initiatives after it uncovered flaws in its auditing processes that saw one individual approve projects they had not inspected, the CDM has announced strengthened standards and streamlined procedures for accreditation of the third-party certifiers that vet CDM project activities.

Under the changes, verifiers or designated operational entities (DOEs) – as they are officially referred to – will be subject to random spot checks from the board rather than scheduled inspections.

A spokesman for the CDM Executive Board said that the move would not only make the scheme more robust, it would also speed up the accreditation of certifiers helping to tackle the backlog of CDM projects awaiting third-party approval.

"The quality of the projects is key and the emission reductions have to be real, measurable, verifiable and additional," he said. "These changes are part of an ongoing process to improve the robustness and efficiency of the scheme."

In addition to the new random testing of verifiers, the board has agreed to adopt new rules on the requirements that must be met before industrial gas facilities can qualify as CDM projects.

The qualification of large-scale industrial plants such as refineries or power plants that use more efficient technologies as emission reduction projects has been one of the most controversial components of the CDM, with critics claiming funds that should support green projects is being diverted to fossil fuel industries in the developing world.

However, the CDM is now looking to address concerns that such projects fail to deliver significant emission reductions through a new baseline and monitoring methodology designed to help ensure emission reductions are genuine.

The board also discussed the need to develop procedures for addressing situations where projects that have been approved by the CDM then differ from the original description that gained them entry to the scheme. It agreed to consider proposals for tackling the issue at its next meeting.