Aligning climate change mitigation and sustainable development under the UNFCCC: a critical assessment of the Clean Development Mechanism, the Green Climate Fund and REDD+

Aligning climate change mitigation and sustainable development under the UNFCCC: a critical assessment of the Clean Development Mechanism, the Green Climate Fund and REDD+

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Horstmann, Britta / Jonas Hein
Studies 96 (2017)

Bonn: German Development Institute / Deutsches Institut für Entwicklungspolitik (DIE)

ISBN: 978-3-96021-043-6
Price: 10 €

Investments in climate change mitigation will have to rise massively in the coming years in order to keep the global temperature increase below 1.5°C. Rising levels of investment in mitigation can reduce the impacts of climate change. Yet, they also increase the risk that these investments adversely affect development opportunities and adaptive capacities. Those who have contributed the least to climate change, but are the most vulnerable to its impacts, could thus face a double-equity gap.
This study analyses to what extent the UNFCCC regime aligns climate change mitigation with sustainable development. First, we analyse sustainable development effects of past mitigation action under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Second, we analyse to what extent the key UNFCCC mitigation approaches – the CDM, Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) – support the generation of positive effects, or the prevention of negative effects, on sustainable development. Finally, we compare the key UNFCCC mitigation approaches and highlight their main weaknesses and challenges. We argue that the governance approaches of the CDM, REDD+ and the GCF do not sufficiently address the risk of negative effects related to rising levels of mitigation investment.

About the authors

Hein, Jonas

Geography

Hein

Horstmann, Britta

Geographer

Horstmann

Further experts

Aleksandrova, Mariya

Climate risk governance 

Brandi, Clara

Economy and Political Science 

Dippel, Beatrice

Comparatist 

Donnelly, Aiveen

Politcal Science 

Ekoh, Susan S.

Environmental Research 

Gitt, Florian

Economics 

Goedeking, Nicholas

Comparative Political Economy 

Haug, Sebastian

Political Science 

Hägele, Ramona

Political Scientist 

Inacio da Cunha, Marcelo

Economics, Geography 

Kachelmann, Matthias

Political Science 

Lehmann, Ina

Political Science 

Li, Hangwei

Political Science 

Malerba, Daniele

Economy 

Mathis, Okka Lou

Political Scientist 

Morare, Ditebogo Modiegi

Political Science 

Never, Babette

Political Scientist 

Novoselova, Anna

Political Science 

Nowack, Daniel

Political Science 

Olekseyuk, Zoryana

Economy 

Pegels, Anna

Economist 

Srigiri, Srinivasa Reddy

Agricultural Economist 

Stewart, Benjamin

Social Science 

Volz, Ulrich

Economist 

Wehrmann, Dorothea

Sociology 

Wingens, Christopher

Political Science