Do clean development mechanisms promote sustainable development in Brazil? a cross-sectoral investigation (original) (raw)

Investing in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Projects in Brazil

Journal of Operations and Supply Chain Management, 2010

The discussion about Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Projects has its roots in global warming and its consequences. CDM projects enable developed countries to offset the pollution generated by the acquisition of Certified Emission Reductions (CER), concerning the reduction of Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions in developing countries. The article discusses the CDM in a comprehensive manner, based on the opinion of experts, and investigates the future of this market from 2012, the post-Kyoto period. The main results show that the CDM follows the principles of Sustainable Development, focusing on the climate changes and the profitability of projects. It shows that Brazil has real possibilities to act in the CER market which is expected to consolidate in the post-Kyoto. Controversial issues as the future of post-Kyoto, nuclear power and especially the conservation of forests, through the generation of CER, remain undefined.

From Clean Development to Strategic Sustainable Development: A strategic approach to the Clean Development Mechanism

From Clean Development to Strategic Sustainable Development: A strategic approach to the Clean Development Mechanism , 2006

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has the dual objectives of facilitating a cost-effective way of meeting greenhouse gas emission reduction targets and contributing to global sustainable development. Due in part to a lack of consensus on definitions of sustainability and sustainable development and a lack of capacity to address these concepts, there is a risk that CDM projects may fail to move the host country towards sustainability. We suggest the use of a scientific, principle-based definition of sustainability to guide project participants in their decision-making process. We propose a user-friendly project planning tool-CDM Select-that can build capacity for project developers to employ a strategic, whole-system approach to sustainable development and increase the likelihood that CDM projects move society towards sustainability. Early review of CDM Select by experts and practitioners in the CDM arena indicate that it has strong potential to assist in these efforts.

Clean Development Mechanism Projects in Latin America : beyond reducing CO2 (e) emissions. A case study in Chile

2011

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) was created to compensate underdeveloped countries for their contribution to mitigate climate change. Under these rules, those projects showing the lower cost, in terms of investment, for each tonne of CO2 (e) saved, will be the ones selected. However, even if this selection process seems quite rational, it can result in a suboptimal allocation of resources, when other impacts of these projects, also having to do with social welfare, are considered. This point is illustrated in this paper by comparing the financial cost of CER credits of two current CDM projects in Chile, the Santa Marta Landfill Gas Capture Project and the Corneche-Los Guindos Methane Capture from Swine Manure Project, with that of a third, "virtual" project, the upgrading of the Renca Generation Plant in Santiago de Chile to a gas fired combined cycle (CCGT) Plant. Even if this third project is much less efficient in financial terms, it shows a very important ancilla...

Contributions from the Brazilian industrial sector to sustainable development

Journal of Cleaner Production, 2020

This paper aims to evaluate the perception of experts on the contribution of the Brazilian industrial sector in terms of sustainable development, focusing in particular on three of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) presented by United Nations (UN). A survey was conducted with professionals from Brazilian industry in order to identify their perceptions. It obtained sixty one answers and the collected data was evaluated technically and descriptively by TOPSIS analysis. It was found that Brazil has been carrying out some relevant actions, both sporadic and planned, with significant opportunities for improvement. Comparatively, the most cited contributions are those related to increasing productivity and technological modernization, which contributes to the inclusion of young people in the labor market, improving resource efficiency and the minimization of environmental degradation. Conversely, the least cited contributions are those related to the stimulation of sustainable consumption and negotiation with small companies. Therefore, the authors believe that the findings of this research could be useful for professionals and academics as guidance. It is also important to mention that no similar paper was found with an academic basis, which reinforces the originality and the contribution of this paper.

The Road to the Successful Clean Development Mechanism: Lessons from the Past

2010

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has evolved at a surprising speed since 2003 and is considered to have made positive contributions to the development of greenhouse-gas-reducing projects in developing countries. Taking into account its historical significance as the first effort of its kind and its current success, a thorough evaluation of its system and its effectiveness is of critical importance. Against this backdrop, this study closely investigates each stage of the CDM project cycle from development and registration of projects to issuance of certified emission reductions and identifies influential factors for the successful CDM implementation. For the analysis, we performed an extensive quantitative analysis augmented by a descriptive study, based on information of approximately 5000 CDM project.

The Clean Development Mechanism: too flexible to produce sustainable development benefits?

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol has a dual objective: to encourage low-cost emission reduction and to promote sustainable development in the host countries of CDM projects. The CDM has by and large delivered on the first objective but arguably not on the second. This paper assesses quantitatively the form and prevalence of co-benefits in CDM projects. Adopting a broad definition of sustainable development, the project design documents of 409 projects (10% of the October 2008 project pipeline) were searched for keyword indicators of contributions to economic growth, physical, social and natural capital. Economic growth co-benefits, in the form of employment, constitute the main project co-benefit, with 82% of projects claiming to contribute to employment. Under a stricter sustainable development definition, projects contribute principally to social capital, primarily training (67%), with physical and natural capital gains less prominent. End-of-pipe projects are found to have lower co-benefits than renewable energy or forestry projects in particular. Contrary to common belief, small-scale projects do not appear to provide higher co-benefits than large-scale projects.

Brazilian contributions to the Sustainable Development Goal 7 and policy implications

Kybernetes, 2021

Purpose The seventh United Nations' Sustainable Development Goal (SDG 7) is broadly characterised by ensuring affordable and clean energy for all. Considering the need for research associated with SDGs in developing countries, the Brazilian economy importance and its energy matrix, the purpose of this study is to evaluate how Brazil has been acting in favour of 7th SDGs targets. Design/methodology/approach The methodological strategy used was a survey conducted with 42 energy planning specialists who know the Brazilian reality. Data were analysed via averages and the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) technique. Findings The results show that, in general, the actions taken by Brazil to achieve the goals related to SDG 7 have been developed in a simply and punctually form, needing to move considerably towards developing more planned activities; with this, satisfactory and consolidated results are expected on a national scale. Originality/va...

BRAZILIAN ECOVILLAGES AND IBGE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS

Belleze, G.; Bernardes, M. E. C.; Pimenta, C.A.M; Nunes Junior, P. C., 2017

Ecovillages have been highlighted among the initiatives that promote sustainable development in the contemporary world. However, little is known about their effectiveness in the economic, social, environmental, and institutional contexts, in relation to society in general. This study compared, quali-quantitatively, 11 IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) Sustainable Development Indicators (SDIs) in the country with the respective data for the participating ecovillages. Of these indicators, five were related to the environmental dimension; four others to the social dimension; and two to the economic dimension. Questionnaires were used with 52 ecovillages, with open and closed questions, resulting in 32 responses with different degrees of detail. The results suggest that ecovillages outperform those described by IBGE, for the population as a whole, in all indicators that were analyzed. However, there are still challenges to be overcome, such as the difficulty of these groups in dealing with social and economic aspects.

How much sustainable development can we expect from the Clean Development Mechanism?

AUSTIN, D., FAETH, P., DA MOTTA, R. S., FERRAZ, C., YOUNG, C. E., JI, Z., ... & SHARMA, S. (1999). CLIMATE NOTES., 1999

A new collaborative report (WRI, in press) reviews candidate CDM projects for Brazil, China, and India to see how they might advance both carbon and sustainable development objectives, as the Kyoto Protocol requires. The present Climate Note summarizes the main findings of the case studies from the report including the following: Potential CDM projects in all three countries offer a wide range of sustainable development benefits. These include environmental benefits such as cleaner air and water, reduced deforestation, soil conservation, and biodiversity protection; and social benefits such as rural development, employment, and poverty alleviation. In many cases, these benefits overlap markedly with goals that developing countries have formally or informally identified as development priorities. Far from skewing investment priorities in developing countries, the CDM offers an opportunity to make progress simultaneously on climate, development, and local environmental issues.l Explicit assessment of the noncarbon, or sustainable development, attributes of a project are important if developing countries are to design and prioritize projects so that they are most consistent with their own development goals. In some cases, lowest cost carbon-abatement projects are not the most referable from a sustainable development perspective. In these cases, deciding between projects will require some tradeoff between the CDM’s two objectives.