What is the history and purpose of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)?
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) arose out of the negotiations of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997. The United States government desired that there be as much flexibility in achieving emission reductions as possible, and desired a possibility of international emissions trading to achieve cost-effective emission reductions. At the time, it was considered a controversial element and was opposed throughout by environmental NGOs. It was also initially opposed by developing countries who felt that industrialized countries should put their own house in order first and feared the environmental integrity of the mechanism would be too hard to guarantee. Eventually, and largely on US insistence, CDM and two other flexible mechanisms were written into the Kyoto Protocol. The purpose of the CDM was defined under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol. Apart from helping Annex 1 countries comply with their emission reduction commitments, it must assist developing countries in achieving sustainable develop
