Analyzing Sustainable Development Impacts of Large-Scale Clean Development Mechanism Projects on Host Countries

Abstract

The objective of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is to assist developed countries in achieving their emission reduction target levels and to contribute to the sustainable development of host countries. A Gold Standard (GS) rating system was developed to assess the value of emission certificates of existing CDM projects. In this paper, a framework was developed to analyze the true impact of CDM projects on host countries economically, socially, and environmentally. In addition, a comparative analysis is conducted between GS certified and non-certified projects to see which projects can be categorized as GS through Applied Statistical Inference techniques. Results show that the major impact of CDM projects was mainly related to job creation and reducing CO¬¬¬2 emissions. In addition, statistical analyses show that the sustainability filter in GS has many flaws and should be re-evaluated in order to be used as a rating system for CDM projects.