Verification of outcomes from carbon market under the clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in landfills

• Published in: Journal of cleaner production Vol. 142; pp. 145 - 156
• Main Authors: Stuchi Cruz, Silvia, Paulino, Sônia, Paiva, Delhi
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 20-01-2017
• Subjects: Clean development mechanism; Co-benefits indicator; Landfill; Clean development mechanism; Landfill; Co-benefits indicator
• ISSN: 0959-6526; 1879-1786
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jclepro.2016.04.022

This paper addresses the issue of verifying the outcomes of using the Clean Development Mechanism – CDM – in landfills. Our research focuses on the São Paulo Metropolitan Area and outlines six CDM projects: Bandeirantes, São João, Caieiras, Itapevi, Pedreira, and Lara. Twenty-three indicators are proposed, organized into two dimensions: social and environmental. The process of constructing indicators was participatory. The Delphi technique was then applied leading to its validation by experts. The dimensions were subdivided into five topics: participation, emphasizing the participation of associations and cooperatives surrounding landfills; the interface between agents involved, each with different interests; benefits, focusing on the implementation of CDM in the solid waste sector (especially waste pickers' cooperatives and technology transfer); environmental quality monitoring, highlighting the issue of odor; and gas emissions monitoring related to the efficiency of the biogas capture system. The aforementioned results corroborate the importance of the indicators developed based on interdisciplinary and multi-agent approaches which take into account the different stakeholders.
•CDM projects must also contribute to promote sustainable development.•The generation of co-benefits is still not significant in Brazilian projects.•23 indicators are proposed, organized into social, and environmental, dimensions.•The Delphi method is an important tool for constructing and validating co-benefit indicators.•Indicators are developed based on interdisciplinary and multi-agent approaches.