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It explicitly shows where and what trade-offs are being made in the implementation options so that they can be designed to meet particular needs e.g. CDM in Newly Industrialised Countries or CDM in Less Developed Countries. The trade-offs between the equity, environmental integrity and the economic efficiency of the options can be clearly seen so that there is a balance within the options. There is at present a more piecemeal approach to looking at the components of implementation options such as baselines for accounting without putting them into the wider accounting or option context.
How JI is implemented is crucial in determining how the goals of the Convention are met in terms of how equitable, environmentally effective and cost effective the mechanism is. There are a number of different components to the JI process. For example, there is a range of approval criteria being used, there are different ways of operating and additionally, different accounting methods being proposed for emission reductions and costs, as well as a range of possible crediting methods and safeguards. The possible combinations of these are multiple and have differing implications for the objectives of the Convention. We propose that these aspects have to be explicitly acknowledged and defined.
Hence, we define a series of JI implementation options in terms of different combinations of the different possibilities for accounting, accreditation, verification, approval etc. The options should then be examined perhaps using a structured Multi-attribute approach to maximise the overall benefits from the different forms that the mechanisms may take and to ensure that they meet the goals of the Convention.
An analysis of this situation has been completed in this study, and concludes that such early crediting effectively leads to a relaxation of the emissions targets of the donor countries rather than redistribution. Partial crediting of CDM projects is a way of offsetting this problem. The analysis provides a methodology for calculating the crediting fraction necessary for partial crediting to function. The analysis can be simply adapted for use in exploring crediting regimes under Article 6 JI. This result therefore feeds directly into the current debate on crediting regimes under the CDM and JI.
The result is an assessment of implications of early crediting for the CDM and it requires policy action based on the trade-offs between an incentive to ensure the mechanism is taken up by host country partners and the concurrent relaxation of the donor country emissions reduction target. One possible policy tool to maintain the level of reduction action is partial crediting.
There is no doubt that early crediting cannot be applied to Article 6 JI where host countries have targets as these will be tightened by an amount equivalent to the relaxation in donor targets The result should feed in to the current debate within the secretariat and within the forthcoming COP meetings on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on modalities for JI/CDM. Certainly Russia has been pushing for Article 6 JI to have early crediting, without appreciating the consequent extra tightening of its targets.
Based on an assessment of AIJ projects in the energy sector, the importance of considering non-GHG environmental and social impacts of projects at the approval stage is clear. A process is suggested which involves first of all screening projects to decide if an assessment is necessary, defining the scope of factors to be considered in an assessment, then selecting the indicators and assessing the potential impacts. The significance of these impacts and the mitigation measures required to be built in to the design of the project can then be considered. Post auditing and monitoring may be required. This will also affect a decision whether or not to implement the project. Public participation inputs are required at the screening, the assessment and the post auditing phases. The actual assessment need not be at the level of an EIA.
It is important that the full environmental and social implications of projects are considered and that there is a feasible method to incorporate these considerations at all stages of project development. The current debate on modalities has so far has ignored this question and thus risks sacrificing equity and environmental integrity.
An integral aspect of the operation of Joint Implementation under Articles 6 and 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, is the procedure for calculating emissions reductions and costs, including construction of a conterfactual baseline. In this study, a series of accounting packages have been proposed to fulfil this function for energy sector projects such as heat supply, electricity supply including renewables and cogeneration. These were developed based on an assessment of AIJ projects in eastern European countries. Use of such packages will reduce the potential for gaming by project developers, and safeguard the environmental objective of the Protocol, whilst also reducing transaction costs.
The appropriate package of measures for a particular project and country can be chosen from a series of institutional safeguards which directly take account of where the major uncertainties lie and what can be done to minimise them. These institutional safeguards include monitored data, baseline revision, or limited lifetimes or partial crediting. At the heart of the calculation is a standardised approach to baselines that is derived from a benchmarking sectoral assessment.
The accounting procedure for costs uses a standard approach but points out the implications of current practices and the need to use a common methodology.
For both the emissions reduction and costs accounting, the data requirements are set out.
This approach could contribute positively to the current search for an approach to baseline setting and accounting as it is based on actual projects and focuses on the implications for environmental integrity by specifically addressing the problems of uncertainty.
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