NOAH's position on CCS in the CDM and JI
NOAH has been against the flexible mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol both before and after their adoption. NOAH condemns the right of rich countries or companies to meet their reduction commitments through funding of projects in developing countries in the CDM . NOAH's position is that the rich world must reduce as much as possible as quickly as possible at home.
NOAH therefore strongly advices against the fossil industry proposal that CCS should be approved as a project type eligible for credits under the CDM. Arguments against are inter alia:
· The extent and weight of the CDM will increase with the acceptance of CCS in the CDM.
· CCS has the potential to flood the world's CO2 trading systems with credits with large decreases and fluctuations in the CO2 allowance price as a consequence. This will inhibit innovation and development of CO2 reduction technologies at home.
· That CCS will enhance developing countries' dependence on coal.
· That developing countries will commit their energy future to a centralized system with a large input of carbon, and thus miss the opportunity to go directly to a sustainable, decentralized energy supply system based on local renewable energy sources.
· That developing countries are likely to be stuck with long-term storage responsibilities and unintended adverse consequences of the CCS technology.
· That rich countries will benefit from the inclusion of CCS in the CDM through a substantially increased quantity of cheap project credits tending to weaken the domestic reduction efforts.
· That CCS in the CDM - like CCS technologies (or the complex of technologies) in general - has not been the subject of a public debate.