Clean Development Mechanism: Key Lessons and Challenges in Mitigating Climate Change and Achieving Sustainable Development

Abstract

In the context of climate change, the current challenges are to find convergent solutions that balance both economy and the environment such that emissions of greenhouse gases (GHG) are cost-effectively reduced without adversely affecting the global economy. One of the mechanisms established for this purpose is the clean development mechanism (CDM), a market-based instrument that aims to reduce GHG emissions and promote sustainable development in developing countries. In this article, we analyze the distribution of CDM projects by country, region, and sector, identifying countries, and regions with the highest number of registered CDM projects and the most attractive sectors for developing such projects. Additionally, we examine scientific research from Scopus and ScienceDirect databases to identify what has been published on CDM in the last 20years. We use a Self-Organizing Map, a neural-network algorithm, to cluster CDM projects by countries and sectors, and ego network analysis to map scientific articles in order to identify the relationship between CDM and other topics. The results offer insights on future challenges in dealing with market mechanisms, and demonstrate how CDM provides almost two decades-worth of lessons and experience regarding global governance of carbon offsets.