Abstract
The research goal for this thesis has been to investigate whether the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol can play a significant role in sustainable development of rural communities, including uptake of small-scale renewable energy projects in developing countries and thus expand access to energy services through the use of local, renewable energy resources.
The research methodology was centred on assessing registered small-scale CDM projects under the Kyoto Protocol in terms of their potential impact on the envisaged sustainable development goals for rural communities and associated benefits such as accelerating the development of renewable and clean energy projects in the developing countries.
The research core of the thesis has been the analysis of registered small-scale CDM projects under UNFCCC for sustainable development benefits in terms of environmental, social, economic factors and technological developments. Further, a case study analysis of five registered CDM projects has been carried out based on the findings from site visit information and actual data. The analysis has been used to compare and ground truth the findings from the sustainable development analysis for the selected 500 small-scale registered CDM projects to the actual developmental benefits delivered on the ground.
The research concludes that the CDM in the current state and design is facing several challenges which are hindering the mechanism to deliver and adhere to its dual objectives of emission reductions and sustainable development.
The research also concludes that small-scale, community based rural renewable energy CDM projects can offer good prospects for poverty and livelihood benefits. In addition such projects can assist in terms of developing and deploying RE technologies in remote un-electrified regions promoting local entrepreneurship resulting in cost effective implementation of RE projects in these regions. Finally, the research has also made recommendations to redress the above challenges.