Emission reductions to Finland from a project in Honduras
Finnish Environment Institute
Press release
21 October 2005
The Rio Blanco Small Hydropower Project in Honduras has produced the first Certified Emission Reductions to Finland in accordance with the Kyoto Protocol. This is the first time ever that emission reductions under the Kyoto Protocol have been created. Finland can utilise these in order to achieve its Kyoto target. Finland has an obligation to stabilise its greenhouse gas emissions by the years 2008-2012 to the level of the year 1990. The CDM Executive Board, working under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol, yesterday issued the Certified Emission Reductions that have been generated by the Rio Blanco project in the year 2004.
The reductions are formed through the system for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), as the carbon dioxide emissions were reduced in Honduras in 2004 as a result of the hydropower project. The Finnish Government has agreed to purchase approximately 200 000 tonnes of emissions reductions of greenhouse gases from the project. The project illustrates, that reductions from CDM projects are often a more cost effective option than to reduce the same amount of greenhouse gases domestically. The Finnish Energy and Climate Strategy will be updated later this year, and it will amongst other issues include the Finnish policy on the possible further use in Finnish climate policy of this flexible mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol.
The 5 MW Rio Blanco hydro plant replaces electricity production based on fossil fuels in Honduras, and at the same time the project supports sustainable development in the country. The hydro plant started operation last Autumn as a CDM project.
The project has been developed within the Finnish CDM/JI Pilot Programme. The programme is administrated by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is acting as a consultant for the Programme. The Programme gathers experiences related to the project based mechanisms, i.e. the clean development mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation (JI) defined in the Kyoto Protocol under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. CDM projects are implemented in developing countries whereas JI projects take place in industrialised countries or countries with an economy in transition. The projects can be realised e.g. by building a hydropower plant or a wind power plant, by switching to renewable energy sources from fossil fuels or by recovering methane from landfills. An industrialised country can purchase emission reductions generated by a project in accordance with the international rules and as specified in the project related agreements, and can utilise the reductions in fulfilling its reduction target under the Kyoto Protocol and the burden sharing agreement of the EU.
The Finnish CDM/JI Pilot Programme has so far implemented four JI (joint implementation) projects in Estonia and this current CDM project in Honduras.
For further information: Mr. Kari Hämekoski, Programme Manager, SYKE
tel. +358-40-565 2125 (mobile), +358-9-403 000, Ms. Janika Fagerholm, Legal Adviser, SYKE, tel. +358-9-4030 0422, Ms. Ulla Sonck, Information Officer, SYKE, tel. +358 40 740 2186, +358 9 4030 0707
[email protected]