ABSTRACT
Created as a win-win solution for developed and developing countries, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change offers the potential for cost-effective greenhouse gas emission credits for the North, and sustainable development in the South. This chapter explains the significance of sustainable development in the context of these flexibility mechanisms and places this within a brief analysis of the pros and cons of project-based emissions trading. It reviews the need for sustainable development in the context of a brief assessment of the advantages and disadvantages of project-based emissions trading. The chapter presents the results from five in-depth cases studies of Activities Implemented Jointly projects, and of 44 CDM projects financed by the Netherlands. It examines the potential contribution to sustainable development of 44 representative projects out of a total of 150 CDM projects in the Netherlands portfolio.
