Main issues related to CDM: a developing country perspective

Four years after the Kyoto Protocol was agreed to, issues related to operationalising CDM are yet to be resolved. This paper presents the debate on key CDM issues, namely, those of baselines, additionality, supplementarity, application of the sustainable development criteria and the inclusion of sinks as CDM projects. CDM is compared with other flexible mechanisms defined in the Kyoto Protocol. Finally, the paper analyses and discusses the developments at COP-6 and their impacts on CDM and suggestions for proceeding beyond the current scenarios. This paper was written prior to the decisions and agreements reached in the Marrakech Accords.