Sustainable development and CDM projects in the palm oil industry in Malaysia
The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) offers the possibility to industrialized countries to achieve their binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets by participating in project activities that result in emission reductions in developing countries provided that it assists them to achieve sustainable development. The Palm Oil Industry in Malaysia holds a large potential to reduce GHGs emission reductions by e.g. improving its waste management practices with the financial support of the Clean Development Mechanism. As several technological options are possible to achieve the same (GHG) objectives, it is crucial to look at the “Sustainability aspects” in order to promote the right solution for the future. The “Sustainable Development” is a rather broad and unpractical concept which is left to the host country (Designated National Authority, DNA) to define and evaluate. The method is using a set of criteria, indicators and weight factors in order to evaluate the complex concept of sustainability under the “Malaysian” context and is based on the multi-attributive utility theory. It consists of five steps: 1. Identification of sustainability criteria and establishment of hierarchical order Host Countries are left with the final decision to evaluate the sustainability aspects of the proposed CDM projects based on best judgment. The proposed method paves the way to the application of a qualitative tool using measurable indicators that will assist the host country and the project proponents in their decision process.
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