NSS Summary Full report
NSS (National Strategy Study) for CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) in India was initiated to assess the issues and opportunities presented by potential international markets for GHG (greenhouse gases) offset through the CDM, and to evaluate processes and methodologies to facilitate implementation of CDM in India. The study has been conducted by TERI, New Delhi, with Swiss consultants providing inputs as required.
Participation of India in CDM helps it by bringing in clean technologies and financial resources thereby complementing its sustainable development efforts. The extent to which India could participate in the CDM depends largely on the potential of the GHG emission reductions and their costs at the project, sectoral and national level and the international demand for GHGs offset.

Evolution of NSS
The National Strategy Study has been a part of the NSS Program (National JI/CDM [ Joint Implementation/Clean Development Mechanism] Strategy Studies Program) of the World Bank. The program was launched in 1997 between the Government of Switzerland and the World Bank. The objective of this programme was to build capacity of the JI/CDM host countries regarding the application of the Kyoto Protocol flexibility mechanisms that promote trade of GHGs emission reductions.
With Germany, Australia, Finland, Austria and Canada joining the major Swiss donor support, the NSS Program targeted nearly 30 of the Bank's client countries. As the NSS Program aimed at building local capacity, the studies have been carried out by host country experts, in collaboration with experts from donor countries and the World Bank.

Objectives of the Study
The objective of the study was to develop a national strategy for India to participate in the global efforts to reduce GHGs emissions through CDM.
This has been achieved through the following steps:
assessment of opportunities presented by the international demand for carbon assessment of CDM potential in different sectors in India evaluation of processes and institutional arrangements in India for CDM implementation suggestion for a framework, including capacity building requirements to facilitate the development and implementation of CDM projects development of a pipeline of CDM projects

Activities and Outcomes
The study brought out a strategic overview of CDM opportunities for India through an analysis of international demand for GHG offsets and India’s supply potential from different sectors.
The study examined the barriers to CDM implementation in India and identified key institutional, legal, financial and regulatory pre-requisites for CDM project development and implementation. Keeping in view the ongoing international and national developments, a framework to facilitate CDM project development and implementation has been designed.
The study not only identified human and institutional capacity building needs to develop, implement, and process CDM projects in India in order to tap global GHGs offset opportunities but also organized several capacity building and technical assistance workshops for different categories of stakeholders.
The study also developed a few PDDs (project design document), to highlight issues and concerns related to project development methodologies. The process of project identification and development had been a transparent and participatory one.
As the ultimate outcome of the study an Action Plan to facilitate the operationalization of CDM in India has been developed.


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India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the objective of the Convention is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.To strengthen the developed country commitments under the Convention, the Parties adopted Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which commits developed country Parties to return their emissions of greenhouse gases to an average of approximately 5.2% below 1990 levels over the period 2008-12...

Change in the Definition of Forest
Important announcement CDM EB 41:

The Project Proponents/ Developers and CDM Consultants are requested to follow the CDM Executive Board reports (including Annexes) regularly. In particular attention is drawn towards Annex-46 of CDM EB 41st report, which states as follows for ‘New Project Activities’.

Quote:
The Board decided that for project activities with a starting date on or after 02 August 2008, the project participant must inform a Host Party DNA and/or the UNFCCC secretariat in writing of the commencement of the project activity and of their intention to seek CDM status. Such notification must be made within six months of the project activity start date and shall contain the precise geographical location and a brief description of the proposed project activity. Such notification is not necessary if a PDD has been published for global stakeholder consultation or a new methodology proposed to the Executive Board before the project activity start date.
When validating a project activity with a start date on or after 2 August 2008 DOEs shall ensure by means of confirmation from the DNA or UNFCCC secretariat that such a notification has been provided. If such a notification has not been provided the DOE shall determine that the CDM was not seriously considered in the decision to implement the project activity.
Additionally for project activities for which a PDD has not been published for global stakeholder consultation or a new methodology proposed or request for revision of an approved methodology is requested, every subsequent two years after the initial notification the project participants shall inform the DNA and/or the UNFCCC secretariat of the progress of the project activity.
Unquote:

NCDMA Decision-February 2008

Extract of the Fortieth Meeting Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism for Developing Indian Project.

REPORT

The Board noted that many proposed CDM project activities in the energy sector in India seek to demonstrate additionality by means of investment analysis applying a benchmark of 16%, which is based on tariff orders published in accordance with the Central Electricity Regulation Commission. The Board is concerned with the use of this value as a benchmark for proposed CDM project activities, as this value is used in tariff determination for CDM projects and for non-CDM projects. Therefore the Board is of the view that this value is not a suitable benchmark.
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NHS faces challenge to cut carbon emissions

ICT procurement for the health service in England produces carbon dioxide equivalent to that generated by 27,000 of its patients.
Such procurement produces 320,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, according to data released with Saving Carbon, Improving Health: A Draft Carbon Reduction Strategy for the NHS in England, published on 29 May, 2008.
The draft strategy, which challenges the health service to cut carbon emissions by 60 percent by 2050, says greater use of IT could increase the health service's environmental impact, under a heading of "increased energy intensity of healthcare delivery".
However, it mentions teleconferencing as a way of cutting emissions from travel. Patients' travel produces 1.53m tonnes and health-service business travel produces 740,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide, annually.
ICT procurement makes up just 1.7 percent of the English NHS's total emissions of the main gas responsible for climate change, which totals 18.61 million tonnes — 30 percent of the public sector's emissions, and 3.2 percent of all carbon dioxide generated by England.
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The research was not able to provide the additional emissions from ICT's share of NHS electricity use, which in total produces 2.31 milliion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually, due to a lack of individual metering of equipment. The researchers recommended sub-metering to improve understanding of electricity use.
The strategy is set to lead to greater monitoring of greenhouse gas emissions by the health service, although the efficiency of buildings and the carbon dioxide footprint of pharmaceuticals — the latter being responsible for 4.06 million tonnes of annual emissions &mdsh; are more pressing areas for improvement. All health-service trusts will have a carbon management strategy by 2009, and will produce annual reports on their progress on sustainable development.
The strategy document said climate change was responsible for an estimated 150,000 deaths worldwide in 2000. It is the first work produced by the new NHS Sustainable Development Unit.

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India is a Party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the objective of the Convention is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

To strengthen the developed country commitments under the Convention, the Parties adopted Kyoto Protocol in 1997, which commits developed country Parties to return their emissions of greenhouse gases to an average of approximately 5.2% below 1990 levels over the period 2008-12...

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CDM Links

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about CDM

Clean Development Mechanism

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1 countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. A crucial feature of an approved CDM carbon project is that it has established that the planned reductions would not occur without the additional incentive provided by emission reductions credits, a concept known as "additionality".

Distribution of CDM emission reductions, by country.
The CDM allows net global greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced at a much lower global cost by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower than in industrialized countries. However, critics argue that by allowing "business as usual" projects some emission reductions under the CDM are false or exaggerated, and in early 2007 the CDM was accused of paying €4.6 billion for projects that would have cost only €100 million if funded by development agencies (see discussion below).

The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Contents
1 History and Purpose
2 CDM project process
2.1 Outline of the project process
2.2 Establishing additionality
2.3 Establishing a baseline
3 Financial issues
4 Concerns
4.1 Exclusion of forest conservation/avoided deforestation from the CDM
4.2 The risk of false credits
4.3 Excessive payments for emission reductions
5 CDM projects to date
6 References
7 See also
8 External links

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