IMPLEMENTING ENVIRONMENTAL CONSIDERATIONS FOR JOINT IMPLEMENTATION AND THE CLEAN DEVELOPMENT MECHANISM

The 1992 Climate Change Convention aims to stabilise greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) are instruments which allow countries with high marginal costs of abatement to participate in emission reduction projects in countries with lower marginal abatement costs with the incentive of gaining carbon credits for the reduction of GHGs. The environmental benefits sought by the Convention relate mainly to he mitigation of climate change. However, consideration should also be given to other potential environmental, economic and social effects of JI/CDM projects on the local population and host country. This paper discusses the need for integrating environmental and social considerations into the JI/CDM process. It undertakes a preliminary retrospective environmental assessment of AIJ energy projects in the Czech Republic and Estonia. It also proposes support for capacity building and data collection systems in host countries, application of a simple participative scoping exercise for all projects followed by further work as necessary, upgrading of the Uniform Reporting Format for projects, and incorporation into project approval criteria.