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18 June 2013

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Asia-Pacific Publications Catalogue 2011

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A Guide to Clean Development Mechanism Projects

Author(s): Environment and Development Division (EDD)

Economic Sector(s): (1) Assessment and monitoring; (2) Awareness and education

ESCAP Reference No.: ST/ESCAP/2453

Division/Office: Environment and Development

Published Date: August 2007

Country: Thailand

Hard Copy Price: Free

The Asia-Pacific region contains approximately three fifths of the world’s population, or about 3.75 billion people, and spans roughly one third of the Earth’s land area. A total of 13 cities count more than 10 million inhabitants and 5 cities have more than 7 million, creating various threats to the environment, including problems related to municipal solid waste management. The high rate of population growth, urbanization and economic expansion not only accelerates consumption rates in the region’s developing cities, but also accelerates the generation of waste. Currently, municipal solid waste (MSW) generation ranges between 0.5 kg and 1.4 kg per capita per day in all countries within the Asian and Pacific region. Consequently, waste generation is rising to levels that are difficult and costly to manage. Financial constraints are among the most important barriers to proper MSW management in the developing countries of Asia and the Pacific. The reform of fiscal measures and the adoption of economic instruments could help local governments by increasing revenue, causing MSW management authorities in the region to attempt to recover costs by levying fees for their services. However, the polluter pays principle1 is not easy to enforce in countries where the population has never paid the actual cost of public services aimed at mitigating environmental damage. Since it directly affects their available income, local people often do not understand why they should pay for these services while at the same time, rising public awareness of environmental issues is making it more difficult to implement low-cost solutions, such as the creation of new disposal sites. The fermentation of waste in open dumps and landfills generates landfill gas (LFG), a major component of which is methane, a powerful greenhouse gas (GHG). Proper management of MSW which includes utilizing this LFG, can thus contribute to climate change mitigation. Opportunely, a new financing instrument became available on 16 February 2005: the clean development mechanism (CDM). One of the three “flexible mechanisms” of the Kyoto Protocol, it allows developing cities to obtain financial resources and state-of-the-art technology from industrialized countries in order to mitigate their GHG emissions. Incineration, biogasification and landfill gas recovery are the main types of waste treatment that can mitigate GHG emissions and could be promoted in developing cities through CDM projects. This Guide has been published by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) to the attention of the local administrations and Governments in order to do the following: • Explain generally what the Kyoto Protocol and CDM scheme consist of; • Identify the environmental, social and financial benefits associated with the development of a CDM project from their existing MSW disposal site; • Assess whether a disposal site meets the basic technical and economic feasibility criteria and what could be the barriers to implementing.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ii

ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS v

I. Introduction 1

II. CDM: Genesis and rationale 2

1. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 2

2. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change 3

3. Kyoto Protocol 3

4. Clean development mechanism 5

III. CDM Projects: Modalities and Procedures 6

1. Prerequisites for participation 6

2. Institutional structure 7

3. CDM project cycle 8

IV. Opportunities created by CDM projects for Municipalities and Local Authorities 12

1. Candidate sectors for CDM projects 12

2. Additional financial possibility – focus on CDM projects related to municipal solid waste management

3. Multiple benefits associated with the development of landfill gas projects 15

V. Specific requirements/challenges for developing landfill gas (LFG) recovery/utilization

projects 19

1. Determining if an LFG project is suitable for the landfill 19

2. Technical and engineering study 27

3. LFG utilization technologies 30

4. Utilization selection factors: The LFGTE example 32

5. Economic feasibility study 33

6. Risk factors – barriers to the development of LFG project 34

7. Typical LFG projects implemented in the Asian and Pacific region 37

VI. Annexes 39

Annex 1: Landfill classification according to the United Nations Environment Programme 39

Annex 2: Exemplar analysis on some World Bank case studies 40

Annex 3. Further references 42

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