Mother Jones: UN Targets China's Wind Farms

[OKIsItJustMe]

http://www.motherjones.com/blue-marble/2009/12/un-gets-tough-chinas-wind-farms

UN Targets China's Wind Farms

— By Ben Buchwalter | Wed December 2, 2009 2:23 PM PST

The http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2009/11/better-redd-dead">Clean Development Mechanism, a UN body which helps industrial countries like China cut emissions by paying undeveloped countries to cut their emissions instead, has saved the Chinese government millions of dollars. But many environmentalists worry that China’s http://www.motherjones.com/environment/2007/12/chinas-green-movement">renewable energy projects, particularly its wind farms, do not fulfill the CDM's "additionality" requirements. In other words, they could be receiving foreign funds for projects that might have been built anyway. Responding to these concerns, the http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2799">CDM has suspended some Chinese wind farms until it can be proven that they meet additionality requirements.

Officials in China were predictably http://en.cop15.dk/news/view+news?newsid=2799">opposed to the decision:

CDM officials raised questions after Beijing cut prices that utilities would be required to pay for wind power, said Lin Wei, general manager of Easy Carbon Consultancy Co. in Beijing, a consultant for CDM projects. Such a price cut might make projects appear to need more foreign financing by reducing their revenues.

"They thought the government believed CDM money would be coming in anyway so the government was making prices lower so that Chinese projects could have extra 'additionality' to get extra funding," Lin said.

However, Wang and Lin said the price cuts reflect lower costs for wind projects as technology improves.

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