The CDM Executive Board has agreed on strengthened standards and streamlined procedures for accreditation of the third-party certifiers that vet CDM project activities. These “designated operational entities” (DOEs) are the extended arm of the CDM Executive Board. The enhanced standard should add clarity to what is required of certifiers and lead to improved performance.

The adoption of random testing in the procedure, replacing scheduled witnessing, will simplify and speed up accreditation of certifiers. The new standard and procedure have enabled the Board to almost double the availability of certification services for the 15 broad project types covered under the CDM. Lack of certification service has been noted as a constraint to the growth of the CDM.

Also at its 46th meeting, the Board agreed on an approach and timetable to address improvements requested by Parties at the 4th Conference of the Parties serving at the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. This is a broad scope of work and has a number of aspects, including:
• Ensuring that guidance provided by the Board is comprehensive and provides adequate clarity to those, within the support structure, DOEs and project participants, in implementing it;
• Ensuring that decision-making is carried out in an efficient, transparent, consistent and, where possible, accelerated manner;
• Ensuring that all aspects of the Board’s proceedings and decisions are fully documented in a manner that ensures they are accessible, transparent and up-to-date for the appropriate users; • Ensuring that support provided to the Board enables the Board to conduct its work in a timely, efficient, transparent and consistent manner.

Other work of note included the adoption of guidance on what requirements must be met before new industrial gases facilities can qualify for registration under the CDM; a new baseline and monitoring methodology was approved for project activities that recover SF6 from testing facilities; and a tool was approved to assist project participants in requesting renewal of a crediting period.

The Board further discussed the “Procedures for registration of a Programme of Activities as a single CDM project activity”, and agreed to revise the procedures at its next meeting, with the intention of providing greater clarity to project participants and to address some constraints identified in the development of POAs under the current procedures.

The Board also discussed the need to develop procedures and guidance to address situations in which implemented CDM projects differ from the description contained in the registered project design document. The Board agreed to consider such procedures and guidance to address this issue at its next meeting in order to facilitate the practical implementation of CDM projects.

Please be informed that the report of the forty-sixth meeting of the CDM Executive Board (23 - 25 March 2009), including its annexes, is now available on the UNFCCC CDM website .