Finland buys Certified Emission Reductions from solar cooker project in China
Press release 12/2008
15 January, 2008
Finland has signed an Emission Reduction Purchase Agreement (ERPA) with a Chinese company regarding the purchase and transfer of Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) generated by a solar cooker project under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Finland intends to use these CERs to help meet its Kyoto target of stabilising national emissions to the 1990 level during the first commitment period 2008-2012. Mr. Ilkka Kanerva, Minister for Foreign Affairs, signed the contract on behalf of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland. Chinese company Ningxia Federal Intertrade acts as the local project developer.
The solar cooker project consists of giving 19 000 solar cookers for free to households in 31 villages in Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northern China. The Ningxia Hui region is one of the poorest areas in China and it is a very dry area experiencing severe desertification. There is no access to firewood in the area, so coal is used in households as an energy source.
With the solar cookers distributed within the project the coal use in cooking and water-boiling can be replaced with solar power, and thus the greenhouse gas emissions associated with coal use can be reduced. The solar cookers provide the rural residents a clean, economical and convenient way of daily cooking and water-boiling. The indoor air quality in the households gets better and the energy costs diminish when solar cookers are used instead of coal. Within the project, a repair spot will also be set up in the villages, where the residents can repair their cookers for free, or get a replacement if necessary.
According to the agreement, Finland will purchase approximately 175 549 CERs generated by the project over the period 2008-2012.
Finland as a buyer of carbon credits
The solar cooker project is the twelfth project with which Finland has signed a purchase agreement. In total, Finland has contracted approximately 1,7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent from these twelve projects.
The Finnish Environment Institute (SYKE) is responsible for the practical implementation of the Finnish Carbon Procurement Programme (Finnder). The Finnder Programme is actively seeking to acquire emission reductions from further CDM and JI projects for Finland.
The Clean Development Mechanism
The Kyoto Protocol contains three market-based flexible mechanisms, namely the Clean Development Mechanism, Joint Implementation (JI) and International Emissions Trading (IET). The CDM is a mechanism under which an industrial country committed to an emission reduction goal under the Kyoto Protocol implements a project in a developing country that is not bound by such a commitment. The purpose of the mechanism is to promote sustainable development in developing countries while providing industrial countries with cost-effective ways of reducing emissions. Emissions credits acquired through CDM projects are intended to supplement domestic measures taken by each country to reduce emissions.
In a typical situation, projects concern the areas of renewable energy, energy efficiency and waste management. The Clean Development Mechanism provides a tangible tool for cooperation with the developing countries in the area of energy and climate politics. The projects are expected to promote the transfer of technology, to attract investments to developing countries and increase the share of climate-friendly methods of energy production.
For further information: Chief Administrator Karoliina Anttonen, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 160 56 033, Project Assistant Elina Ruoho, Ministry for Foreign Affairs, tel. +358 9 160 56191, Project Manager, Juha Seppälä, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 400 284 254, Project Assistant, Anna Laine, Finnish Environment Institute, tel. +358 400 148 800