26 October 2006 – Intensifying its efforts to curb
the greenhouse gases blamed for global warming, the United Nations today
launched a new mechanism to generate significant reductions in such emissions in
central and eastern European transition economies through a system of “carbon
credits” acquired by developed countries.
Under the joint implementation (JI) mechanism, launched
by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
developed countries can acquire credits from emission-reducing projects in other
industrialized countries, in particular central and eastern Europe, allowing
them to meet their commitments under the
Kyoto Protocol.
The Protocol requires 35 industrialized countries and
the European Community to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 per
cent below 1990 levels in its first commitment period between 2008 and 2012. The
United States, the world’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases, is not a party.
“JI will generate real projects which will help green
the economies of central and eastern Europe,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de
Boer said. “With its launch, we can expect emission reductions in the order of
several hundred million tonnes of CO2 by the end of the first commitment period
of the Kyoto Protocol.”
He drew a parallel to the Kyoto Protocol’s clean
development mechanism (CDM), which permits industrialized countries to invest in
sustainable development projects in developing countries, and thereby generate
tradable emission credits.
“The CDM got off to a great start last year,” he said.
“We expect JI to be similarly successful. While smaller in terms of its
emissions reduction potential, it is an equivalent to the CDM with regard to
cooperation among countries that have targets under the Kyoto Protocol and a
credible alternative to the much-feared ‘hot air’.”
‘Hot air’ refers to the concern that some countries will
have excess emission allowances under the Kyoto Protocol without undertaking
specific efforts to reduce emissions and that they could then flood the carbon
market by selling them at lower price, reducing the incentive for other
countries to cut emissions.
The chair of the UNFCCC’s JI Supervisory Committee (JISC),
Daniela Stoycheva, said her Committee would ensure the environmental integrity
of the projects. “We will ensure that only those projects are verified that
would not have come about without the Kyoto mechanism being in place,” she said.
The first JI projects, ranging from wind farms to
forestry projects, are expected to begin undergoing the UNFCCC approval process
in the run-up to and during the upcoming UN Climate Change Conference in Nairobi
from 6 to 17 November.
Source: UN News Service
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