Point Carbon takes another look at double counting of carbon credits under international schemes and domestic NAMAs, again in the context of China.
This could become a very important topic if China should decide to step up their commitments at Cancun these weeks.
I was talking to Stian of Point Carbon, explaining my personal opinion that China was not very likely to make avoiding double counting a priority when formulating their domestic strategy under the 12th 5-year plan. While CDM may have significantly contributed to certain industries (small hydros, wind), it’s overall impact is still minor compared to the overall scale of China’s mitigation efforts. I think the most likely outcome is that double counting will be solved on the demand side, either through an outright ban of certain credit types (think HFC23) or through cancelation of an equal amount of domestic credits (if that’s possible within the Chinese system).
It’s also possible they could be banned or restricted from emissions trading schemes outside of China, meaning the EU and UN need to clarify eligibility rules, said Caspar Chiquet at project developer South Pole Carbon’s Beijing office.
“It shouldn’t be too complicated to solve, depending on how energy intensity goals are implemented. They will include targets for big emitters, and it should be easy to take those into consideration,” he added.
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