Development of the monitoring plan

Project participants must include in the project design document (PDD) a monitoring plan which provides for the collection and analysis of all data relevant to the calculation of emission reductions from the project.  The full requirements for the monitoring plan are set out in 3/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 53:

Project participants shall include, as part of the project design document, a monitoring plan that provides for:

1. The collection and archiving of all relevant data necessary for estimating or measuring anthropogenic emissions by sources of greenhouse gases occurring within the project boundary during the crediting period;
2. The collection and archiving of all relevant data necessary for determining the baseline of anthropogenic emissions by sources of greenhouse gases within the project boundary during the crediting period;
3. The identification of all potential sources of, and the collection and archiving of data on, increased anthropogenic emissions by sources of greenhouse gases outside the project boundary that are significant and reasonably attributable to the project activity during the crediting period;
4. The collection and archiving of information relevant to the provisions in paragraph 37 (c) above;
5. Quality assurance and control procedures for the monitoring process;
6. Procedures for the periodic calculation of the reductions of anthropogenic emissions by sources by the proposed CDM project activity, and for leakage effects;
7. Documentation of all steps involved in the calculations referred to in paragraph 53 (c) and (f) above (3/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 53).

The monitoring plan must be based on an appropriate approved monitoring methodology or a new monitoring methodology:

A monitoring plan for a proposed project activity shall be based on a previously approved monitoring methodology or a new methodology, in accordance with paragraphs 37 and 38 above, that:

1. Is determined by the designated operational entity as appropriate to the circumstances of the proposed project activity and has been successfully applied elsewhere;
2. Reflects good monitoring practice appropriate to the type of project activity (3/CMP.1, Annex, paragraph 54).

The PDD must include the following information relating to the monitoring plan:

1. identification of data needs and data quality with regard to accuracy, comparability, completeness and validity;
2. methodologies to be used for data collection and monitoring including quality assurance and quality control provisions for monitoring, collecting and reporting; and
3. in the case of a new monitoring methodology, a description of the methodology, including an assessment of strengths and weaknesses of the methodology and whether or not it has been applied successfully elsewhere (3/CMP.1, Annex, Appendix B, paragraph 2(h)).