Clean Development Mechanism

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is widely regarded as one of the most innovative mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol. It allows the developed countries flexible and cost- effective means of meeting their emission reduction commitments: by investing in projects which lower emissions in developing countries and earning certified emission reductions (CERs). The CERs issued to developed countries are used in offsetting their emission commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. The rationale of this is that it is cheaper to reduce a tone of Green House Gases (GHGs) in a developing country than in a developed country. On the part of the developing countries including Nigeria, they benefit from sustainable development projects by way of clean energy technologies, economic gains and solutions to challenging environmental issues. Most countries including China and India has benefited immensely from the CDM. Nigeria’s benefits so far have been minimal as a result of institutional and legal challenges. This paper aims at assessing the clean development mechanism as a tool for Nigeria’s sustainable development. The paper finds that Nigeria benefits from the CDM have been minimal and inadequate. Furthermore, there are institutional and legal barriers hampering the CDM implementation in the country. To optimize the country’s benefit from the CDM, the paper advocates some strategies including increase in mitigation potential, improvement of investment climate and legal reforms for large scale implementation of the mechanism for the country’s sustainable development.