Options for utilizing the CDM for global emission reductions | Umweltbundesamt

So far, developing countries do not contribute to global emissions reductions in the framework of the Kyoto Protocol: while they participate in the CDM, the reductions achieved through the mechanism are used for offsetting emissions in industrialized countries, thus resulting in a zero-sum game for the atmosphere. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (⁠IPCC⁠) states in its Fourth Assessment Report that the industrialized countries need to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 25-40% of 1990 levels until 2020, in order to reach an emissions path consistent with the 2°C goal.