CERs are Certified Emission Reductions, an example of 'carbon credits', or 'carbon offsets'. They are issued in return for a reduction of atmospheric carbon emissions through projects under the Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). One CER equates to an emission reduction of one tonne of CO2.

Holders of CERs are entitled to use them to offset their own carbon emissions as one way of achieving their Kyoto or EU ETS emissions reduction target.

More than 175 million CERs had been issued by mid 2008 and round 1.5 billion are expected to be generated by the end of 2012 when Kyoto’s first commitment period runs out.

CERs have emerged as the closest thing we have yet to a world carbon price, as these credits are the most widely used carbon trading instruments worldwide. They are generated in scores of developing countries, in demand in almost all Annex 1, or developed, countries, and accepted in most existing and emerging national and regional emissions trading schemes.


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