Today the UNEP Centre at Risø DTU is introducing a global web portal for climate projects under the Kyoto Protocol. The web bazaar enables developing countries to make contact with more buyers after having developed projects such as the establishment of wind turbines or energy efficiency improvements. More buyers imply higher prices to the developing countries for their projects. The buyers may be European companies and governments. The ”product” is CO2 credits, in return for investments in sustainable energy supply or climate protection in the developing countries.
The new CDM Bazaar (www.cdmbazaar.net) is to improve the contact between buyers, sellers and service and technology providers in connection with the Kyoto Protocol Clean Development Mechanism, CDM.
The Kyoto Protocol offers the opportunity to trade in CO2 credits. Through investments in sustainable climate projects in the developing countries, companies and governments under the commitment of CO2 quotas can help reducing the greenhouse gas emissions. In return they will get CO2 credits that can be credited on their own climate accounts. This kind of trade is regulated through Clean Development Mechanism, CDM. The objective of the recently launched CDM Bazaar is to provide information on possible climate projects and stimulate the trade in CO2 credits.
”The CDM has seen an exponential growth in the number of projects, with strong interest in developing countries for projects and in developed countries for CERs (certified emission reduction). The CDM Bazaar will do just what its name suggests – help buyers and sellers, and all those that serve the market, get down to business” says Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the UNFCCC.
The UNEP Risø Centre, responsible for the CDM Bazaar, has developed the CDM Bazaar in cooperation with UNFCCC. The website is not a portal for buying and selling, but a bazaar where interested parties meet and exchange information. However, the aim is of course to increase the level of activity regarding the projects.
”When a developing country has developed a project, e.g. wind turbines or energy efficiency improvements, CDM Bazaar will enable them to reach more buyers – European companies and governments – thus obtaining better payment for their projects. The bazaar can also be used by producers of environmental- and energy technologies to enter the carbon market which is developing rapidly, says Adrian Lema, CDM Bazaar project associate at the UNEP Risø Centre.
Achim Steiner, UN Under-Secretary-General and UNEP Executive Director, says: "The CDM is playing an important role in meeting the climate change challenge. However, if the benefits are to be more widely shared, especially in areas such as sub-Saharan Africa, more efforts need to be put into building developing-country capacity. The CDM Bazaar is therefore a very welcome new networking initiative with the potential to complement and perhaps broaden the impacts of the physical carbon fairs and Expos now emerging in parts of the world.”
The launch of the CDM Bazaar takes place in cooperation with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
Further information:
Head of the UNEP Risø Centre: John Christensen, john.christensen@risoe.dk. For queries regarding the functionality of the bazaar, please contact CDM Bazaar Facilitator at the UNEP Risø Centre: Adrian Lema, +45 46 77 51 77, adrian.lema@risoe.dk.
About UNEP
The UNEP Risø Centre (URC) is located at Risø DTU and is a UN environmental programme research centre. URC deals with energy, climate and sustainable development, especially in the developing countries. The overall objective of URC is to encourage the incorporation of environmental and developing aspects into energy and climate policy and also planning in the developing countries. The centre has 25 international employees, activities in 35-40 developing countries and provides support to the UN’s environment organization on climate, energy and other activities. The centre receives financial support from Danida, EU and other international donors. |