Annual report of the Executive Board of the clean development mechanism to the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Part I.

This report covers the work of the Executive Board of the clean development mechanism (CDM) during the period from 14 September 2012 to 4 October 2013. It highlights achievements and challenges faced by the Executive Board in its supervision of the mechanism, the status of the mechanism and work undertaken by the Board and its support structure
in the areas of accreditation, methodologies, registration and issuance, and other areas. Furthermore, it includes a number of recommendations for action by the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol at its ninth session. The main challenge facing the CDM remains the low level of demand for the certified emission reductions produced by CDM registered project activities and programmes of activities, due ultimately to Parties’ level of ambition to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The report describes the Executive Board’s prudent efforts, in a constrained environment, to implement and improve the CDM to ensure that the mechanism remains a useful tool to incentivize climate change mitigation and contribute to sustainable development.