Developing economies in the current climate regime : new prospects for resilience and sustainability ? The case of CDM projects in Asia

This paper offers a review of the current position of developing countries in the climate regime and international negotiations based primarily on the analysis of implementation of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The paper will place emphasis on changes in national policies to accommodate CDM projects, focussing on the scope and rationale for bottom-up policies and measures as part of development strategies favouring more resilience and sustainability. Two issues are addressed more specifically: firstly regional specificity among developing areas and notably the pre-eminence of projects located in Asia, and secondly the relevance of CDM projects for both sustained growth and effective mitigation strategies. Regarding the latter, we consider that CDM project multiplication does question the relevance of national policies and the diversity of actors/stakeholders to foster upgraded domestic well targeted development strategies. Our research considers differences between developing countries and regions regarding selection and implementation of climate mitigation projects- with reference to their GHG emissions and national energy profiles (calculation from Enerdata source and IEA). It refers to selected cases of projects in East Asia - focus on China and Asean countries - showing particular sector selection patterns (differing between semi industrial economies and less developed countries) and diversification of stakeholders for development (role of regional actors within Asia). The analysis is based on international data base of CDM projects (United Nations) and secondary data from IGES (Japan) and Enerdata. The conclusion will examine prospects for CDM in a post 2012 climate régime for developing economies and the future relevance of CDM projects in the framework of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions.