A review of community co-benefits of the clean development mechanism (CDM)

Abstract

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has been the major international offset mechanism within the broader world of carbon finance. It was designed with two goals in mind: to lead to significant emission reductions that will help reduce the cost of climate mitigation in countries with commitments as well as contribute to sustainable development in the host countries. However, there has been significant discussion about the degree to which these projects fulfilled their dual mission of emissions reductions and sustainable development, particularly with respect to fostering local community co-benefits as part of broader sustainable development outcomes. In this paper, we review literature on the co-benefits delivered by the CDM at the local or community level, based on a group of 84 peer-reviewed articles and other reports. While perspectives on co-benefits are diverse, most sources argue or acknowledge that even with more recent procedural improvements, the CDM has not consistently delivered significant co-benefits to local communities. It appears likely that the situation has improved somewhat in recent years as CDM procedures have been refined, and there may be more opportunities for enhancing procedures to favor such benefits. There is overall variability in delivering co-benefits depending on the technology type, design features and the country context.

Keywords

• co-benefits
• clean development mechanism
• CDM
• sustainable development
• SDG