CDM and the Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is a significant addition to the basic UN climate control treaty (UNFCCC) – an international treaty with the goal of preventing global warming. The protocol deals with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, which will help to stem the greenhouse effect and global climate change. Within the context of the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries pledged to reduce their levels of greenhouse gas emissions. However, to reach this goal, the industrialized nations need to invest a large amount of capital. The clean development mechanism (CDM) was devised to decrease the costs of the project. CDM enables industrial nations to invest in foreign projects that deal with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, and "emission reduction rights" can be accumulated for the prevention of greenhouse gas emissions. As Israel was classified by the Kyoto Protocol as a developing country, the CDM is a path for foreign capital investments in Israeli projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the rehabilitation of the Hiriya site, the Association created a project to prevent the emission of greenhouse gases from the waste mountain. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Eco Traders company, and is the first Israeli project to be approved by the UN.

The emission reduction rights created by the project were traded in the global market in 2008, and have been sold to the French electric company EDF.