Where to now with the CDM? Deciding on the fate of CDM activities, credits, rules and institutions

With the Paris Agreement now replacing the Kyoto Protocol as the new and universal global climate agreement, the fate of today’s pipeline of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) activities is unclear. The same is true for the sizeable stock of credits that have been issued, the methodologies approved and in use and, more generally, the standards, procedures and institutional architecture developed over the history of the CDM. With the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment still not in sight, it remains unknown to CDM participants until when the mechanism will continue operation and into which markets they may be able to sell their credits.

This article is also available on the Carbon Mechanisms website.