Clean Development Mechanism DNA

For more information on DNA, visit http://meas.nema.go.ke

DNA means Designated National Authority

Under the Kyoto Protocol every country is required to set up a Designated National Authority (DNA). In Kenya, the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is the Designated National Authority. NEMA is a government agency in the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources (MEMR)
DNA is a body that has been granted responsibility by a Party (to the UNFCCC) to authorize and approve participation in CDM projects.
This is a requirement for a Party to participate in CDM. NEMA is one of the 48 DNAs in Africa.
The Executive Board (EB) of CDM established a DNA forum to broaden participation in CDM through regular meetings.
The forum also provides opportunities for DNA representatives to exchange views, share experiences relating to CDM and bring out common views /issues to the attention of the EB.
Main Tasks/ roles
 The DNA has two principal roles;

(a) Regulatory and (b) promotional roles.
The DNA works with a National CDM Clearing House to review CDM projects from various sectors.
The DNA screens Project Idea Notes (PINs) and issues a letter of No - objection.
The PINs are then developed to Project Design Documents (PDD); the DNA issues a Letter of Approval for the proposed CDM project after confirmation that it will contribute to the country’s sustainable development.
The projects must also conform to:

    The national CDM Guidelines,
    The National development strategy
    Kenya Vision 2030 blueprint
    Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Audit (EIA/EA)
    and other environmental management regulations as well as sectoral laws and guidelines.

About Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001. Kenya became a party in 2005. Image

The Kyoto mechanisms
Under the Treaty, countries must meet their targets primarily through national measures. However, the Kyoto Protocol offers them an additional means of meeting their targets by way of three market-based mechanisms.
The Kyoto (Carbon Trading (Flexible Mechanisms) mechanisms are:

1] International Emissions Trading (IET)

Emissions trading, as set out in Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows countries that have emission units to spare - emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets. Thus, a new commodity was created in the form of emission reductions or removals. Since carbon dioxide is the principal greenhouse gas, this is simplified as trading in carbon. Carbon is now tracked and traded like any other commodity. This is known as the "carbon market."

2] Joint Implementation
The mechanism known as “joint implementation,” defined in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows a country with an emission reduction or limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target. Joint implementation offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of fulfilling a part of their Kyoto commitments, while the host Party benefits from foreign investment and technology transfer.