The Carbon Procurement Unit (CPU) was established in September 2007 to form an intermediary for CDM-based carbon trading between India and Germany. As a further step to comply with GTZ’s general vision to foster sustainable development worldwide and to strengthen the capacity of the regions' CDM efforts, the CPU supports parties in Germany and the South Asia region (mainly but not only in India) to jointly implement CDM projects and commercialise the resulting Certified Emission Reductions (CER).

The Kyoto Protocol - showing the way

The Kyoto Protocol under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) has the objective of reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in an effort to prevent human-induced climate change. The Protocol was formulated in December 1997 by the 3rd Conference of the Parties, which met in Kyoto, and came into force in February 2005. Until today, 190 countries have ratified the protocol. Of these, 40 industrialized countries (including the European Union as a single entity) have committed themselves to reduce their emissions of GHG to binding targets, which were specified for each of them in the treaty In addition, 150 developing countries have ratified the protocol, including Brazil, China and India.

Carbon Credits: The Clean Trade-Off

For global problems such as climate change, solutions must be sought with a global perspective. In order to reduce the risk of climate change, such global action needs to be taken, and needs to be taken now. Each tonne saved in the emission of GHG is a step in the right direction – wherever on the globe this step is taken is of no importance at all: it is important to go the distance as a global team. The Kyoto Protocol provides flexible mechanisms that allow industrialized countries to fulfil their commitment on reducing greenhouse gases. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is probably the most widely adopted option. Under CDM, public and private institutions of the industrialized countries support the emission reduction projects in developing countries, where often inefficient and outdated processes prevail. As a result, the potential for the reduction of greenhouse gases is much higher and can be achieved at a lower cost than the improvement of advanced technology in industrialized countries. For every tonne of CO2 equivalent that is reduced as a result of a CDM project, a Certified Emission Reduction unit (CER) is issued and can be used by industrialized countries to comply with their commitments. Both - the investor and the host country - benefit through cost reduction and help support environmentally responsible economic and social development.