PCDM

In December 2005 Fourth Generation was at the first COP/MOP in Montreal where
the the decision was made to include “programs of activities” (PoAs) in the CDM.
A PoA is a program that provides the organizational, financial, and
methodological framework for emission reductions to occur. The program itself
does not achieve the reductions, but provides the enabling environment for
others to do so. The defined activities through which the emission reductions
are achieved are “CDM program activities” (CPAs) and they can occur in an
unlimited number of places and can be implemented over time up to 28 years.

 

“One of the most promising areas for future CDM activities is programmatic
CDM (pCDM), wherein the normal project-by-project approval process is aggregated
into a broader program including many individual activities. As Yvo de Boer,
Executive Secretaryof the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
has said:

‘Programmatic CDM is expected to enormously enhance
the chances of small and poor countries getting access to CDM. In such
countries, single projects are not benefiting from the CDM at the
moment. The programmatic approach could dramatically change this.’

 

 

 

UNEP Riso Centre

CD4CDM Working Paper Series

Working Paper No.3

September 2007

 

pCDM opens the door to capturing a variety of dispersed emissions reductions
activities. Capturing distributed emissions reductions is a logical evolution
for Fourth Generation, a company which began as a developer of distributed
renewable energy resources. COP 11 in Montreal was inflection point for Fourth
Generation and it’s Montreal photo album preserves a reminder of some of the
activities.
Fourth Generation is working now on programs involving methane capture from
distributed sources, solar power implementation, biomass power generation and
multiple aspects of end user energy efficiency.

 

“Energy efficiency (EE) is widely recognized as one of the lowest-cost
“sources” of energy. It is often more cost-effective to invest in
energy-efficiency improvements, particularly on the end-use or demand side, than
to increase energy supply to meet the growing demand for energy services. In
addition to making energy more affordable, energy efficiency contributes to
energy security, economic growth, and environmental sustainability through local
emissions reductions and mitigation of global greenhouse gases (GHGs).
The projected potential of EE measures for mitigation of GHG over the next
several decades is the highest among the other available options, as estimated
by the climate change scientific community and energy sector practitioners.
Energy efficiency could potentially account for more than half of the
energy-related emission abatement potential achievable within the next 20–40
years, as identified by the International Energy Agency (IEA) World Energy
Outlook (2006), the Fourth Assessment of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (2007), and the McKinsey Cost Curve (2007).

Energy Sector Management Assistance Program

Carbon Finance Unit World Bank

ESMAP Technical Paper 120/07

December 2007