Sydney, 28 March 2008 – Baker & McKenzie's Global Climate Change practice has officially launched the CDM Rulebook website, a comprehensive online database for the rules surrounding the CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) under the Kyoto Protocol.

Under the CDM, companies from developed countries can undertake projects in developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and receive carbon credits for them, provided that the projects meet the stringent eligibility criteria set out in the CDM rules.  These credits can then be used to meet country-level Kyoto targets and company-level targets under some national emissions trading schemes.

Baker & McKenzie developed the website with funding from eight donor organisations: the United Kingdom Foreign and Commonwealth Office, the Swedish Energy Agency, the Australian Department of Climate Change, the New Zealand Ministry for the Environment, the Asian Development Bank, the United Nations Development Program, the World Bank and the UNEP Risoe Center.

The CDM Rulebook fills a significant gap in public resources available on the CDM. Until now, there has not been a logically-sequenced information source available to assist market players and stakeholders (who are often first-time market participants from developing countries, with English as their second language).
A powerful search engine allows users to easily reach important content.  Users can also browse the rules by the stages of the CDM project cycle, by the bodies involved in the CDM process, and through an A-Z index.  Users can also access Frequently Asked Questions, and submit their own question to be answered or term to be defined.

Paul Curnow, a Partner in Baker & McKenzie's Global Climate Change Practice and Editor of the CDM Rulebook said, "the CDM Rulebook represents a major step forward in the dissemination and understanding of the CDM rules. The availability of the site will remedy the serious barriers to accessing information, particularly for those in developing countries, and will contribute to reducing transaction costs."

As of today, the CDM Rulebook is available free to stakeholders, participants in the carbon market and all members of the public.