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A pilot project involving Mexico and Norway has shown that reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from developing countries can be satisfactorily measured and certified for ‘trading’ purposes.

Under the $23 million Ilumex project, residents in two Mexican cities, Guadalajara and Monterrey, replaced millions of ordinary light bulbs with energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs that use a quarter of the power and last ten times as long.

Auditors say the move generated energy savings that reduced carbon dioxide emissions from Mexican power stations by more than 170,000 tonnes from 1995 to 1998. The reduction was certified by Det Norske Veritas, an independent foundation based in Oslo, with assistance from the US engineering consultancy ICF.

Sceptics argue that such reductions are difficult to measure and that international trading in emissions credits will be prone to fraud. But Kristian Holthe of Norway's ministry of foreign affairs, announcing the certification at the World Bank in Washington last week, said the pilot shows that it is possible to measure and certify emissions reductions attributable to particular projects. He said it “bodes well for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol” to reduce emissions.

The parties to the protocol have yet to reach agreement on mechanisms for trading emissions credits. For example, developed nations may be able to obtain credits towards meeting emissions targets by helping developing nations to reduce their emissions.

The Global Environment Facility — an offshoot of the United Nations and the World Bank — paid $10 million towards Ilumex, a sum matched by the Mexican electricity company Comision Federal de Electricidad, while the Norwegian government contributed $3 million.

Most of the money was used to subsidize the sale of the more expensive fluorescent light bulbs. Auditors checked the sale and installation of the bulbs, their performance and their effect on carbon dioxide emissions.

Bob Watson, environment director at the World Bank, added that arrangements for trade or exchange of emissions credits were unlikely to be agreed until the sixth meeting of the conference of the parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, expected to be held late in 2000.

Supporters of emission controls hope that such a framework will open the way for global compliance with the Kyoto Protocol. But the US Senate remains hostile to the protocol, and is not expected to ratify it in the near future.