Certified emission reduction opportunities in the rural domestic energy sector: An economic analysis

ABSTRACT

Since the Kyoto Protocol agreement, clean development mechanism (CDM) for techno-economic viable project implementations has garnered large emphasis in terms of certified emission reduction, particularly among developing nations. This paper attempts to assess the economic impact of CDM implementation toward sustainable development and the CO₂ emission particularly in rural domestic energy sector. A detailed survey was undertaken in the state of Kerala, located in southern part of India, to map the rural domestic energy consumption pattern. Multiple-regression analysis of the data collected reveals the interrelationships of the various parameters that influence domestic energy consumption. The interrelationships between the different parameters were modeled as a linear programming model that optimizes the contribution of individual energy resources on end applications. The results were used to estimate the feasible extent of CO₂ emission reduction through use of various energy resources, vis-à-vis their economic viability through cost effectiveness.

KEYWORDS:

• Carbon dioxide emission
• certified emission reduction
• clean development mechanism
• economic analysis
• energy consumption pattern