- 2070 Asar · 2 marks
Certified Emission Reduction
Short answer
A CER is a carbon credit issued under CDM of the Kyoto Protocol for verified emission reductions in a developing country. One CER equals one tonne of CO2 equivalent, issued by the UNFCCC CDM Executive Board after monitoring and verification. It can be sold to industrialised countries to meet targets; prices fell after 2012 and Article 6.4 replaces CDM.
Define Certified Emission Reduction (CER).
A Certified Emission Reduction (CER) is a carbon credit issued under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol for verified emission reductions achieved by a project in a developing country.
- 1 CER = 1 tonne of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e) reduced or removed.
- It is issued by the UNFCCC CDM Executive Board after the project is registered and its reductions are monitored and verified by an independent Designated Operational Entity.
- Industrialised countries (and companies in emission trading schemes such as the EU ETS) buy CERs and use them to meet their Kyoto targets.
- The seller (project owner in the host country) earns revenue, which helps make clean projects such as hydropower, biogas or forestry financially viable.
- Example: Nepal's biogas programme earned CERs by replacing firewood and kerosene.
CER prices fell sharply after 2012 because of oversupply, and CDM is now being replaced by Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement.
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