Whatever the technology or other means used to achieve the objectives of a project aimed at the socio-economic development of a country of the South, the first and indispensable phase is the identification of the needs of the population. This initial phase can take 6 months to1 year. This is the pre-feasibility study.
Then, to gain access to carbon financing, verification procedures and registration as a CDM project is a long and complex but relatively well-established process. The project holder must follow 5 compulsory steps after which he can buy CERU (Certified Emission Reduction Units) or CER (Certified Emission Reduction), i.e. carbon credits:
Synopsis of the Guide of Best Practices - Climate, Energy, Development
Voluntary projects (outside of Kyoto - CDM), generating VER (Verified Emission Reduction), follow the same procedure : it is based on a method of calculation of CO2 savings approved by the UN, having a valid PDD and a subject to independent, third party verification.
For example, here is the sequence of steps for the project of distribution of improved cooking ovens in Cambodia :
- 1997: Diagnostic phase, site inventory and choice of the pilot area (6 months to 1 year)
- 1999: Planning/ checking of the interest and production of the new equipment (2 years)
- 2001: Pre distribution of the equipment, promotional activities, testing of the system of distribution (2 years)
- 2003: Evaluation and preparation of distribution on a large scale (1 year)
- 2004: Large scale distribution and making the procedure autonomous (2 years)
These phases are not fixed for each project. Sometime the reality in the field forces the NGO to be very flexible in their implementation.
