The Tianjin Office for Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Projects went into operation on July 7, specializing in identifying, developing and applying CDM projects．

The office offers services including introducing the basics of CDM, submitting CDM projects to the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) and contacting foreign buyers for clients.

“The office, aiming at applying 30 projects from NDRC for Tianjin by the end of 2012, will accelerate Tianjin’s efforts in handling climate change and energy consumption reduction”, Yang Zhenjiang, Deputy Director of Tianjin Municipal Development and Reform Commission was quoted as saying.

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol which allows industrialized countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex B countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.

The CDM, by financing emissions reduction projects in developing countries where costs are lower than in industrialized countries to reduce net global greenhouse gas emissions at a much lower global cost, is a flexible win-win mechanism for both developed and developing countries.

CDM projects were initiated in China as early as 2002, when the Netherlands and China signed contracts for a wind farm in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

Since the Chinese Government approved the Interim Regulations for CDM in June 2004, and with the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol, China has seen a surge in CDM activity.

Up to date, over 2000 projects have been approved by the NDRC and the nation has 580 projects registered at the CDM Executive Board of the United Nations, with total estimated annual CERs (Certified Emission Reduction, a credit equivalent to one ton of CO2 reduced under the Clean Development Mechanism）of 143 million tons of CO2.

As it stands Tianjin holds huge potential for CDM projects.

The municipality has a great number of low cost potential CDM projects in the field of new energy and renewable resources development，organic waste disposal and forestation．

Developing CDM projects will, on one hand, raise energy efficiency and reduce production costs for enterprises and on the other bring foreign investment for high energy consuming enterprises to introduce advanced energy-efficient equipment.

By Guo Changdong