TARA Environment Monitoring Kits

Climate Change Mitigation Projects (CCMPs) reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainability of the host (developing) country. In the case of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which is also a CCMP, sustainability screening is mandatory. For other CCMPs, the requirements are, however, optional. If early CDMs become eligible for CERs, they need to conform to Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol.

India’s planning process has laid emphasis on measures to ensure sustainability not only in economic terms, but also in terms of social and environmental well being. Poverty alleviation, economic and social development and environmental protection are overriding sustainable development goals and priorities of India.

Assessing sustainable development (SD), however is a complex task. The concept of sustainable development indicators (SDIs) has been gaining acceptance as a tool to assess, measure, monitor and verify sustainability of CCMPs. In view of the complexity of SD processes the Government of India (GoI) needs to play a key role both at the Policy and Project levels.

q	A participatory process with the different stakeholders
q	A participatory process ensures that the SD goals of the people in and around the CDM project area are developed and integrated in the project. This, however, increases the transaction cost considerably and is therefore suitable for a large project costing above US $1 million.
q	A careful scrutiny of the CDM Project Proposal at the two levels – Project Developers and GoI, bringing out the economic, social, environmental and technological benefits. Such a methodology ensures that the Project Developers have developed the CDM proposal after taking into consideration the CDM criteria and SD criteria carefully.
q	Project Developers use a ready reckoner of SDIs endorsed by the GoI.

In a small CDM project costing less than US $1 million, Project Developers may adopt SDIs from a ready reckoner endorsed by the GoI. This process reduces transaction costs considerably.

Metrics and Baselines of the SDIs Developed
Using the Participatory Process GoI can develop appropriate SDIs for CDM projects in various sectors of the economy viz.; Conventional energy sector, Renewable energy sector (solar, wind, biomass, bagasse, mini hydro, etc.), Building sector, Transport sector, Agricultural sector, etc. for use by the Project Developers. Consequently metrics and baselines for the SDIs identified in different sectors can also be developed. Each metric should:

q	provide a reliable statistical measure (e.g. fuel input requirements per unit of output)
q	enable comparable measurement over time and space (e.g. concentration of surface ozone at a place)
q	facilitate change assessment against a valid norm or standard (e.g. level of NOx against the national standard set by the Central Pollution Control Board in India)
q	enable cause-effect linkages with identifiable social goals

Guidelines to Assess Sustainability of a Project
Chatterjee et. al. has clearly brought out the process for measuring progress towards sustainable development in CCMPs. A process of Monitoring and Verification (M&V) should be ultimately used for certification of sustainability of the CDM project for CERs. The GoI M&V guidelines needs to include tools and techniques for :

For any of the tools and techniques adopted, baseline data of the SDIs (economic, social, environmental and technological) are very crucial. However, in most host (developing) countries major barriers to M&V may be lack of baseline data on SDIs.

Kyoto Protocol Requirements on CDM
CDM projects may be categorised under energy, transportation, building and renewable energy (solar, wind, biomass) sectors. Not all projects that result in emission reductions are eligible to qualify as a CDM. In order to qualify, projects need to have characteristics that are explicit or implicit in the Kyoto Protocol.

q	are approved by the Governments of the participating Parties and are consistent with and supportive of national environment and development priorities/ strategies
q	assist host (developing) countries to achieve SD
q	are host country driven
q	result in real, measurable and long-term benefits
q	reduce emissions that are additional to any that would occur in the absence of the certified project activity.
q	involve private and/or public entity
q	have voluntary participation, approved by each party involved
q	contribute to the ultimate objective of the Convention
q	benefit developing countries from project activities resulting in Certified Emission Reductions

Assessments of whether CDM projects will fulfil these criteria require comparing projects against a baseline, which may be static or dynamic. In many cases, it is counter-factual to construct a baseline that may never actually happen. Assessing environmental benefits also requires establishing system boundaries appropriate to the scale and complexity of the project to assess ‘leakage’. Besides, a CDM project needs to be environmentally sound, economically efficient and equitable.

Rigorous applications of these principles may raise transaction costs of the project and thus alter its financial viability. In the design stage the concept of CO2 equivalent reduction of the six gases viz.; carbondioxide (CO2), nitrousoxide (N2O), methane (CH4), hydrofluorocarbon (HFCs), perfluoro-carbon (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) should be introduced and their procedure for emission reduction measurements agreed upon.

Single Window Process for CDM Projects
CDM Projects necessarily involve incorporation of SD and climate change concerns, which Project Developers are often not conversant with. While they may engage consultants to assist with the project development, it is critical to have a single window process to facilitate approval of the project by the GoI. The single window process envisaged is outlined below while the supporting institutional mechanisms (the GoI Climate Change Cell and Climate Change Outreach and Facilitation Centres) are described next.

a)	Project Developer submits proposal to the Climate Change Cell (C3-GoI) GoI refers proposal to Climate Change Outreach and Facilitation Centre (CCOFC) for screening CCOFC screens proposal for:
b)
c)
	w	technical feasibility
	w	economic efficiency
	w	financial viability
	w	environmental soundness
	w	social acceptability
It needs to be emphasised that since project developers often have the competence to formulate a proposal adequately addressing the first three aspects, the focus of the CCOFC will be to assess how well the last two aspects have been integrated into the proposal. For example, the conformity with Article 12, derivation of baselines, monitoring techniques, etc. will be rigorously scrutinised. If the proposal fails the screening requirement, the appraisal report either:
d)	CCOFC submits appraisal report to C3-GoI
	w	rejects it with reasons
	w	suggests modifications based on which it can be resubmitted
If the proposal qualifies, the appraisal report provides advice to the C3-GoI on aspects of the project that require close attention.
e)	C3-GoI validates the appraisal and refers the proposal to the InterMinisterial Task Force (IMTF). The IMTF ensures that the proposal conforms to all national development priorities and commitments made to international conventions and protocols. The proposal if rejected is sent back to the C3-GoI for modifications. Approved proposals are passed on to the C3-GoI for submission to the CDM Executive Board.
f)	C3-GoI forwards the proposal to the CDM Executive Board for final acceptance.

The project proponents can proceed with the implementation of the project after this approval.

It is envisaged that with a smooth mechanism set in place the whole approval process can be completed within a period of ninety days.

During the implementation, independent agencies designated by the C3-GoI will undertake periodic monitoring and verification of emission reductions and sustainability concerns through SDIs.

Supporting Mechanisms
India clearly needs to gear itself more proactively to address issues and opportunities arising from the global attention on climate change. Currently the Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) with assistance from the Ministry of External Affairs is the nodal governmental agency addressing issues. At the same time, a few NGOs, academic institutions and business associations are also contributing to the process of understanding the science, developing policies and operationalising response strategies.

As various forms of CCMPs are introduced the need for more focused attention becomes imperative. Especially in the case of CDM projects, more efficient pre-emptive measures are essential.

Within the next two to three years it becomes necessary to formulate two institutional support mechanisms:

Government of India Climate Change Cell (C₃)
As already described in the previous section the GoI has to address a range of issues on climate change and CCMPs both at the policy and project levels. A dedicated Climate Change Cell in the MoEF, on the lines of the Ozone Cell, will enable focused and accelerated action.

At the Policy end, this cell will be responsible for co-ordinating inputs from other ministries within the government and also generates debate among the concerned stakeholders in India. Through this process a more considered Indian position and policy can be evolved on climate change issues. Based on this the cell can also co-ordinate the advocacy and lobbying that is required to influence global policy formulation.

At the Project level, currently essential for CDM projects, guidelines, manuals, appraisal monitoring and verification mechanisms need to be set in place. This cell can play a pre-emptive role in operating these mechanisms while most of these functions need not be directly within government, the cell has to play a critical pivotal role.

Climate Change Outreach and Facilitation Centres
A bulk of the activities to address climate change and utilise opportunities need to be undertaken outside government. Here again the urgency is becoming increasingly felt in CCMPs.

While at the science and policy levels there is considerable awareness and debate building up among stakeholders including NGOs, academic institutions, business and media, it is the operational aspect where India is relatively weak. Most project developers are fairly conversant with formulating a normal business proposal. However, they need considerable support to incorporate SD concerns and CDM requirements. Over the next few years the GoI needs to designate about three to five CCOFCs to support and build up a climate change policy and project activities in India.

It may be noted that Development Alternatives (DA) has already initiated activities in this direction. q