October 6, 2008

CDM Applicants Alter Documents To Prove ‘Additionality’

Jorund Buen, director at Point Carbon told BusinessGreen that some companies are forging documents in an attempt to gain certification for projects under the clean development mechanism.

In order to gain CDM certification and the right to issue certified emission reduction credits, companies need to prove that their projects are “additional” and that the emission reductions would not have occurred without the extra revenue made through selling CERs.

Projects also need to be validated and then verified by two Designated Operational Entities respectively. DOEs are designed to ensure that projects result in real, measurable, emission reductions. The CDM Executive Board then has the final say on whether to register a project or not.

According to Buen, annual reports by these DOEs – in particular SGS, Det Norske Veritas, and TUV – have highlighted attempts to alter documents required to prove “additionality.”

In August, the World Bank said that CDM is “expensive and time consuming” because it requires project managers to follow new rules regarding emission reduction technologies.

Earlier this year, U.N. regulators who administer the CDM questioned whether projects produce a real environmental benefit and raised concerns about some independent auditors of the projects.

Last summer, a CDM senior figure suggested there may be faults with up to 20 percent of the carbon credits already sold.

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