The sustainability of CDM projects

This research applies both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate the sustainable development (SD) benefits of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. The results of cluster analysis confirm that the carbon market is separated into two sub-markets: a premium market; and a normal market or may be defined as “One CER Two Markets”. A willingness to pay study revealed that buyers are willing to pay a price premium of €1.12 per tonne of CO2e for carbon credits with high quality sustainability benefits. 56.4% of the buyers are willing to pay a price premium for Gold Standard carbon credits. The probability of the willingness to pay a price premium is affected positively by the four factors: (i) Buyer’s perception of the SD benefits; (ii) Buyer’s perception of return on investment (ROI); (iii) An involvement in CDM sustainability label; and (iv) Buyer’s attitude towards an importance of CDM sustainability labels. The CDM’s contribution to SD is explored in the context of a biomass (rice husk) case study conducted in Thailand. The results of Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) show that stakeholders ranked ‘increasing the usage of renewable energy’ as the most important SD benefit, whereas they considered air pollution problems associated with dust as the most significant social cost. Qualitative results, suggest that rice husk CDM projects contribute significantly to SD in terms of employment generation, an increase in usage of renewable energy, and transfer of knowledge. However, rice husk biomass projects create a potential negative impact on air quality. Finally, these results indicate that the results of a sustainability assessment conducted by host countries may be inadequate, suggesting an inability of host countries to ensure the sustainability of CDM projects. In order to ensure the environmental sustainability of CDM projects, stakeholders suggest that Thailand should cancel an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) exemption for CDM projects with an installed capacity below 10 MW and apply it to all CDM projects

Classifying carbon credit buyers according to their attitudes towards and involvement in CDM sustainability labels

Carbon markets are increasingly conscious of the social and environmental 'quality' of credits delivered by CDM projects. Consequently carbon credits are no longer viewed as a homogenous good and buyers now differentiate between credits supplied by different types of CDM project. The objective of this paper is to classify CER buyers according to their attitudes towards and preferences for CDM sustainability labels. K-means clustering was used to segment a sample of buyers into two clusters. The results indicate that two clear clusters exist with distinct profile patterns. Moreover, the results of discriminant analysis confirmed that the two-cluster solution was valid. Finally, the results of the chi-square analysis and a cross-tabulation showed that these two clusters were significantly different in: organization type; level of paid up capital; perception of sustainable development benefits; perception of return on investment; perception of image of the sustainability labeling; participation in the voluntary market; the project priority; knowledge in the sustainability label; attitude towards the host country's duty; and their willingness to pay.Clean Development Mechanism Cluster analysis Sustainable development

Stakeholder preferences towards the sustainable development of CDM projects: Lessons from biomass (rice husk) CDM project in Thailand

This research applies both quantitative and qualitative methods to investigate stakeholder preferences towards sustainable development (SD) priorities in Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects. The CDM's contribution to SD is explored in the context of a biomass (rice husk) case study conducted in Thailand. Quantitative analysis ranks increasing the usage of renewable energy as the highest priority, followed by employment and technology transfer. Air pollution (dust) is ranked as the most important problem. Preference weights expressed by experts and local resident are statistically different in the cases of: employment generation; emission reductions; dust; waste disposal; and noise. Qualitative results, suggest that rice husk CDM projects contribute significantly to SD in terms of employment generation, an increase in usage of renewable energy, and transfer of knowledge. However, rice husk biomass projects create a potential negative impact on air quality. In order to ensure the environmental sustainability of CDM projects, stakeholders suggest that Thailand should cancel an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) exemption for CDM projects with an installed capacity below 10 MW and apply it to all CDM projects.Clean Development Mechanism Stakeholder preferences Sustainable development

Unraveling key drivers for engineer creativity and meaningfulness of work: Bayesian network approach

This study builds on an existing structural model developed to examine the influence of leadership and organizational culture on innovation and satisfaction of engineers in Australian public sectors (APS). The objective of this study is to increase the understanding of innovation process with a focus on causal relationships among critical factors. To achieve this objective, the study develops an assessment approach to help predict creativity and work meaningfulness of engineers in the APS. Three quantitative analysis methods were sequentially conducted in this study including correlation analysis, path analysis, and Bayesian networks. A correlation analysis was conducted to pinpoint the strong association between key factors studied. Subsequently, path analysis was employed to identify critical pathways which were accordingly used as a structure to develop Bayesian networks. The findings of the study revealed practical strategies for promoting (1) transformational leadership and (2) innovative culture in public sector organizations since these two factors were found to be key drivers for individual creativity and work meaningfulness of their engineers. This integrated approach may be used as a decision support tool for managing the innovation process for engineers in the public sectors