In order to protect the environment, the Republic of Armenia has ratified three major conventions. These are: the Framework Convention on Climate Change (1993), the Convention on Biological Diversity, the International Convention to Combat Desertification, and Armenia has undertaken to fulfill commitments under these three Conventions.
By ratifying the Framework Convention on Climate Change, Armenia has committed to increasing forest landscapes, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and so on.
The environmental expert, Gohar Ghazinyan in the interview with Iravaban.net noted that Armenia receives international grants to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, as the Ministry of Nature Protection has decided to help rich countries “reduce” their commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Armenia has no such obligation, as it has already reduced the permissible 1990 standard at around 70-50 percent.
Further, in 2003, the Kyoto Protocol was ratified in, the so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) being the financial mechanism referred to above: the poor state is implementing a “greenhouse gas abatement” project in its territory, the resulting “reduction” going to the rich state, thus reducing its “reduction” obligation.
“Under the Convention, 6 CDM projects were registered, which would generate electricity that would replace electricity generated by natural gas burning, thereby reducing CO2 emissions into the atmosphere. Those 6 projects were the Nubarashen landfill CDM project which did not produce electricity, the electricity from Lusakert biogas, which it did not work; the rest were small hydroelectric projects, from which the activities of Jradzor and Gegharot are currently suspended due to their problematic nature. .
However, the Kyoto Protocol strongly demands that CDM projects must meet the sustainable development standards of the state. However, the Ministry of Nature Protection has not developed sustainable development standards, and the current EIA law does not provide for environmental, social and economic risk assessment of projects and small hydropower plants built under these conditions have a disastrous impact on Armenia.
After 2009, there was no need to develop an CDM project for each project, as the Ministry of Nature Protection of Armenia made a single calculation of the so-called “greenhouse gas emission baseline”, which enabled any borrow a loan from the bank for the construction of a small HPP, as the bank calculated the baseline to remove the heat that would be reduced by that HPP. It is important to understand whether Armenian banks are also used to receive loans for small hydropower plants in Artsakh. It is important for the Government to discuss these issues, identify problems related to small hydropower plants and take measures to improve the situation,” Gohar Ghazinyan says.
Attached is a database of CDM projects under the Kyoto Protocol, which also lists Armenian CDM projects.
