Nicholas Cicale

The primary purpose of the Clean Development Mechanism is to assist developing countries achieve sustainable development to mitigate the effects of global climate change. It is failing to do so. At this point China is working its way toward a vertical monopoly of the CDM market, diminishing the mechanism’s global value. The Annex I countries have failed to assist the countries who need CDM assistance. First, this article shall describe the validation and registration process of CDM… Show more

The primary purpose of the Clean Development Mechanism is to assist developing countries achieve sustainable development to mitigate the effects of global climate change. It is failing to do so. At this point China is working its way toward a vertical monopoly of the CDM market, diminishing the mechanism’s global value. The Annex I countries have failed to assist the countries who need CDM assistance. First, this article shall describe the validation and registration process of CDM projects. It shall explore the various United Nations Agencies that are involved. Next, it shall discuss China and the continent of Africa, noting how the CDM is an environmentally inequitable method of emissions reduction for developing countries. The environmental and social aspects of ten CDM projects from China and Africa are described in significant detail. These projects were selected to demonstrate the project activity diversity and overall scope of the CDM. The last section sets forth a critical analysis of the current remediation measures, determining whether the CDM is sustainable for future global climate change mitigation. International financial incentives, schemes and barriers have greatly contributed to the inequitable distribution of the CDM projects. The banking and financial structure of the international lending market warrants significant research and discussion. This article defers that analysis to focus on the CDM project validation and registration process, the relevance of the project distribution problem, and whether or not the problem is remedial from a doctrinal basis. Show less

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