After being the first car plant in the world to be zero CO2 emissions and zero industrial liquid discharges, the Tangier plant, through the partnership formed by Veolia Environment, the Kingdom of Morocco and Renault, becomes so far the only automotive production site to have its emissions reductions recognized as part of the CDM.
CDM or Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), part of the Kyoto Protocol, finances emission reductions. It assigns Credit Emission Reduction units (CERs), measured in thousands of metric tons of CO2, to emission-reduction projects in emerging countries. CERs can be traded and sold and used by industrialized countries to fulfill part of their emission-reduction objectives as determined by the Kyoto Protocol.
To obtain certification, a project must be approved by all the parties involved and demonstrate measurable and long-term efficacy in emission reductions. Emission reductions are additional to what would otherwise have occurred.
This is done for the Tangier plant that has undergone a thorough technical review and validation of the project by an approved independent body. This CDM approval therefore is a strong signal from the UN, acknowledging Renault’s efforts to significantly reduce direct CO2 emissions at the Tangier plant.
The Tangier plant has seduced the UN as the emissions at the site have been reduced by two ground-breaking solutions:
- energy regeneration in the paint process limits energy needs and reduces boiler-house power requirements and
- boilers fueled by biomass rather than natural gas reduce direct emissions of CO2.
If you wish to find out more about this story, check the details on the Tangiers plant on the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) website, by clicking on the link below.