Clean Development Mechanism

• Host countries establish a Designated National Authority (DNA), responsible for developing national criteria to ensure that CDM projects contribute to sustainable development, assessing projects against these criteria and against national policies, and providing host country approval for CDM projects.
  
• Project developer formulates a Project Design Document (PDD) which includes a methodology for establishing baseline emissions and a monitoring plan, seeks comments from local stakeholders, analyses the environmental impact of the project, and obtains a certification from the host country that the project is undertaken voluntarily and will assist it in achieving sustainable development.
  
• Project participants select a Designated Operational Entity (DOE), an entity accredited by the CDM Executive Board with sectoral expertise, to review the PDD against CDM requirements for validation as a CDM project activity and to submit the PDD to the CDM Executive Board.
  
• CDM Executive Board registers the project as a CDM activity.
  
• CDM project activity takes place.
  
• Emission reductions are verified and certified by a DOE.
  
• CDM Executive Board issues Certified Emissions Reductions (CERs) to the project developer.
  

• Develop national criteria for CDM project approval.
  
• Assess and approve the impacts of proposed projects against these criteria.
  
• Ensure that CDM projects are consistent with relevant national policies.
  
• Engage in marketing and promotion of CDM projects as necessary.
  
• Provide final approval of proposed projects through submission of a Letter of Approval (LoA) to the UNFCCC secretariat.