Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects prompted by the Kyoto Protocol allow developed countries to finance GHG emissions reduction in developing countries. The energy sector plays a critical role in successfully reducing GHG emissions and facing climate change. Worldwide, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA), use of low-carbon energy sources is expanding rapidly, with renewable energy accounting for almost half of all new generation capacity in 2014. There has also been increasing investment in the wind power sector in recent years in Brazil. At the end of 2014, Brazil ranked 10th in the world ranking of wind power generation. Brazilian potential for wind power generation is quite large, especially in the Northeast Region. Data from the Brazilian Wind Energy Association (ABEEólica) show that 78% of wind power installed capacity in Brazil at the beginning of November 2015 was concentrated in Northeastern states, mainly Rio Grande do Norte, Bahia and Ceará. In addition to the main objective of reducing GHG emissions, CDM projects should have as a secondary objective the promotion of sustainable development co-benefits. Given the role of renewable energy in consolidating a low-carbon economy, the purpose of this paper is to analyze the sustainable development co-benefits of wind power CDM projects in Northeast Brazil. In order to achieve this aim, a desktop analysis of 47 Project Design Documents (PDDs) of all the wind power projects in Northeast Brazil registered by the CDM Executive Board until May 2016 was carried out. During the desktop analysis, size, location, actors, organizations, annual estimation of emission reductions in tons of CO2e, crediting period and declared co-benefits for sustainable development were identified. Preliminary results show that approximately half of the projects are located in the state of Rio Grande do Norte; about 70% rely on less than 40 wind turbines; and around 60% estimate an average annual GHG reduction of up to 100,000 tons of CO2 equivalent. In regard to sustainable development co-benefits, the most cited environmental co-benefit was, as expected, the improvement in air quality. As for the social co-benefits, the generation of new employment opportunities was the main one listed. At last, the most cited economic co-benefits were the stimulus of regional economy, the promotion of sustainable energy use and the introduction and diffusion of imported technology. Finally, some suggestions are made in order to increase the sustainable development co-benefits of the wind power CDM projects in Northeast Brazil.
Keywords: Sustainable Development Co-benefits, CDM projects, Wind Power, Brazil.
3b Mitigating climate change (prevention and energy efficiency / biomass for energy / wind
