Financing the clean development mechanism through debt-for-efficiency swaps? Case study evidence from a Uruguayan wind farm project

As one of Kyoto’s three flexibility mechanisms, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) allows the issuance of Certified Emission Reduction credits from offset projects in non-Annex I countries. As little attention has been paid to how CDM projects are financed, this article assesses whether offset schemes with public bodies should utilise debt swaps as a form of funding. Specifically, we examine whether a debt-for-efficiency swap between Uruguay and Spain within a wind power project increased project finance and generated greater development co-benefits. We assess the transaction using a simple evaluative framework: whether it delivered additional resources to the debtor country and/or government budget; whether it delivered more resources for climate change mitigation; whether it had a sizeable effect on overall debt burdens (creating ‘indirect’ benefits); and whether it aligned with government policy and systems (elements of the new aid approach). We find evidence that cautions against using the Spanish–Uruguayan case as a model for future debt-for-efficiency swaps.