Clean Development Mechanism

Confronted by global warming and the grave challenges it imposes against the survival and development of human being, the international community has concluded the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and, on the basis of it, the Kyoto Protocol. The framework convention establishes fundamental principles of international environmental law and specifies differentiated responsibilities for developed and developing countries in its two appendixes. The Kyoto Protocol, which overcomes the ambiguity in emissions reduction obligations in the convention, ushers in a new era of emissions reduction based on designated amount. The clean development mechanism, one of the three flexible mechanisms established in the protocol for developed countries to fulfill their obligations in line with the convention and the protocol, will help developing countries to improve their ability to develop in a sustainable way.A thorough understanding of a series of concepts such as baseline, additionalality, leakage and methodology required in the study on the clean development mechanism for a comprehensive understanding of the equation, CERs resulting from a CDM project activity during a specified time period shall be calculated, applying the registered methodology, by subtracting the actual anthropogenic emissions by sources from baseline emissions and adjusting for leakage. An exploration into the international cooperation process of the mechanism will offer a deeper understanding of the influence of the mechanism on China's sustainable development.As to the prospect of the clean development mechanism, this paper, with the angle of international treaty law, maintains that the clean development mechanism will continue to play an important role in the post-Kyoto era.As a developing country, China is not subject to emissions reduction obligations in the next 10 to 15 years. China should actively take the advantage of the clean development mechanism to gradually reduce the greenhouse gas emissions through cooperation with developed countries, thus making contributions to the prevention of global warming.