HT: WSJ.com Energy Roundup
"The Clean Development Mechanism, or CDM, has been at the center of a rapidly expanding, billion-dollar international market for carbon credits. However, early signs indicate that the CDM is unlikely to deliver the broad-based benefits that many hoped it would, at least in the near to medium term. CDM projects have so far been limited in geographic reach, restricted mainly to Asia and Latin America, and have focused primarily on ‘end of pipe’ technologies that generate limited benefit for long-term sustainable development."
There are a few other reasons the CDM may not deliver:
"Gujarat Fluorochemicals, the first company from India to join the Clean Development Mechanism, reported earlier this month that it had tripled its revenue in the quarter ended Dec. 31 from a year earlier.
Shareholders have earned 662 percent on the stock since March 2005, when Japan, the Netherlands, Italy and Britain agreed to pay the company to destroy hydrofluorocarbon- 23." From the IHT 2/22/07
"The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is supposed to offset greenhouse gases emitted in the developed world by selling carbon credits from elsewhere, has been contaminated by gross incompetence, rule-breaking and possible fraud."From The Guardian 6/2/07
" The EU's carbon trading scheme has increased electricity bills, given a windfall to power companies and failed to cut greenhouse gases, it is claimed."
From the BBC 6/5/07
Double Hat Tip: Desmogblog
