Scaling Up Demand-Side Energy Efficiency Improvements through Programmatic CDM

Improving energy efficiency (EE) is one of the most promising approaches for achieving cost-effective global greenhouse gases (GHG) reductions. However, it is severely underrepresented in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) portfolio. Just 10 percent of the emission reduction credits traded in the carbon market are from EE projects. In particular, small, dispersed, end-use EE measures—which entail significant GHG mitigation potential, along with other clear, local, and direct sustainable development benefits—have been largely bypassed by the carbon market.