FACTBOX-Snapshot of "mass-market" carbon offset projects

Nov 4 - A U.N. scheme designed to yield significant emissions cuts and improve the livelihoods of millions of people in developing nations is quickly gaining favour after the world body revised the rules.

Here is a snapshot of several projects under an expanded form of the U.N.'s Clean Development Mechanism where investors can deploy emissions cutting technology at scale under a single approved programme that can last 28 years.

The idea is to help distribute clean energy technology to more people in poorer countries and allow investors to earn more money through the sale of valuable U.N. carbon offsets called CERs. For related analysis, click on: [ID:nSP471008]

Adviser/consultant: Ecosecurities

Country: Tunisia. Solar water heaters.

Plans to deploy around 150,000 solar water heaters to householders in Tunisia over 5 years (2007 - 2011). Projections may differ from actual numbers depending on how households participate.

Overall size in terms of annual estimated flow of CERs is about 600,000 CERs over a 10-year crediting period. Project is at formal validation stage by an approved U.N. auditor.

Adviser/consultant: Ecosecurities

Country: Mexico. Nationwide sustainable housing programme

Working with the National Housing Commission (Conavi) to design more efficient housing, incorporating more efficient lighting, better insulation, solar water heaters and solar power.

The purpose of the PoA is to measure the greenhouse gas reductions that result from these measures.

Conavi subsidizes around 60,000 new homes every year. In addition to these, major lender the Mexican National Fund for Housing authorised a credit system called Green Mortgage. The scope of the proposed PoA encompasses both the homes that receive Conavi's subsidies and the homes purchased with a Green Mortgage.

Preliminary calculations show that homes with sustainable technologies could potentially reduce between 0.5 and 2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year.

Plans to begin validation process by year end.

Adviser/consultant: J.P. Morgan. Participant: Grameen Shakti

Country: Bangladesh. More efficient cooking stoves

Grameen Shakti, part of lending agency Grameen Bank, aims to improve distribution of cooking stoves in Bangladesh, so as to sell and install more than 5 million stoves. The first project such project with a nationwide basis, it is forecast to benefit around 30 million rural people.

The stoves cut fuel usage by 50 percent, halving CO2 emissions. Forecast emissions savings of approximately 1.5 million tonnes of CO2 before 2012 in the form of both CERs and VERs (voluntary emissions reductions). Project under validation.

Developer: Cool nrg International

Country: Mexico

Project aims to deploy 30 million compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in Mexican households, to be distributed in phases over the next two to three years with the aim of generating up to 7.5 million CERs over the programme's life.

Households will be randomly surveyed to monitor how many CFLs remain in service and to calculate ongoing emissions reductions. This is the first formally registered PoA.