LONDON, 15 June - The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the subject of the fourth chapter of IETA’s carbon market oral history, released today.

This latest chapter of From Kyoto to Paris, available online, looks at how the development of the CDM, from early projects through to the boom and the challenges the market has endured over the years. Some of the market's earliest investors and project developers are featured in the video, alongside two of the leading lawyers who helped the market take root. 

“The CDM was the world’s first truly international market-based mechanism to tackle climate change and promote sustainable development, directing over hundreds of billions of new and additional climate finance to emissions reduction projects which otherwise would not have happened,” says IETA President and CEO Dirk Forrister. “The lessons and institutional capacity built up over our years of experience with the CDM are crucial as policymakers start turning the Paris Agreement from words into actions.”

The overall oral history project, From Kyoto to Paris, charts the path from the 1997 treaty to 2015 and the Paris Agreement. Comprised of both a series of videos and a book, it features interviews with key players in the market’s growth, including negotiators, government officials, project developers, traders and lawyers. 

Previous chapters looked at markets and the Kyoto Protocol, early trials of emissions trading and the growth of the EU ETS. Forthcoming chapters will look at the role of carbon funds and the Paris Agreement, among other topics. 

Each week, IETA will release another video chapter of the story on our dedicated web page, www.ieta.org/kyototoparis. In early July, the book will be released via Amazon; please email oralhistory@ieta.org to ensure you don’t miss out!