7 News Belize

Clean Development Not Always A Clean Deal
posted (October 22, 2012)
The Clean Development Mechanism is an incentive programme that came out of the Kyoto Protocol which in turn came out of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

All that very boring, professional workshop talk refers to projects such as the one for Belize Solid Waste Management which will create a regional landfill at mile 24 on the Western highway.

If that saves on the emission of greenhouse gasses, it qualifies as a Clean Development.

From that reduction in greenhouse gasses, Belize would be able to sell green credits to developed countries that emit too much greenhouse gasses.

Except that right now, it's a bear market for those credits, meaning that prices for carbon credits are too low. So this week, those groups called the designated national authorities in Latin American and the Caribbean are gathering in Belize to discuss what will happen when prices go up.

Belize's Climate Change Liaison Carlos Fuller Explained that the timing has to be just right:..

Carlos Fuller, Belize Climate Change
"Gas Helium project makes economic sense if the value of carbon is above 10 euros per ton. In fact the price of carbon on the international market is now falling below 2 euros per ton hence it does not make economic sense for a project developer to invest in a project because he will not get back a return on his investment."

"We are now negotiating a second commitment period starting on the 1st January 2013 and will either end in 2017 or 2020 but it is under negotiations right now. Under this new commitment period we are asking developed countries to increase their targets. In the first commitment period they were required to reduce their emissions to 5% which created this market."

"We are asking them to take it up to around 40% to reduce their emissions by 40%. So, consequently the demand for credits is going to increase significantly and hence the market price should then increase significantly."

Jules Vasquez
"You are selling something that is immaterial. So explain to me Minister how do we monetize these clean developments?"

Hon. Lisel Alamilla
"You will be able to measure how much greenhouse gas emission this project is reducing and so you would take that amount of credit and that would be traded on the markets."

Jules Vasquez
"And to make it abundantly clear, this is something you would sell for money?"

Hon. Lisel Alamilla
"Yes it would be sold for money, so if it's a private sector them they would be able to get the credits and that would be part of the income that they generate."

Presently Belize emits .01% Greenhouse gasses - which is very low. Belize has never submitted a project to qualify as a Clean Development - Belcogen was the only hope but it never panned out.

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