10 January 2011: The Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) has marked the issuance of more than 500 million certified emission reductions (CERs).

The CDM was established to contribute to sustainable development and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in developing countries, and to give developed countries some flexibility in how they achieve their Kyoto Protocol emission reduction targets. Under the CDM, CERs are issued for emission reductions or removals achieved by registered CDM projects, and one CER represents one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent reduced or removed from the atmosphere. There are now about 2740 CDM projects registered in 70 developing countries, and in total more than 500 million CERs have been issued to 855 projects. [CDM Statistics] [CERs Issued]