Sustainable Development and Cleaner Technology in Brazilian Energy CDM Projects: Consideration of Risks

Given the international urgency of addressing climate change, this article evaluates the contribution of energy Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects for the generation of cleaner technologies and the promotion of sustainable development in Brazil. In order to do this, energy CDM projects representing the Brazilian context were selected and a multi-case study was conducted. The data collected were compared using a data triangulation technique and further analyzed in the light of an analysis model built on the following concepts: CDM project's cycle, technology transfer, environmental technologies, and sustainable development. The results demonstrate the prevalence of projects that: (a) use renewable energy sources and technologies that can be classified as cleaner, (b) have a triple bottom line profile with regard to sustainable development, and (c) show partially exogenous or predominantly endogenous technology transfer. General risk factors are presented and analyzed from a CDM project's life cycle's perspective. The results show that Brazilian energy CDM projects contribute to cleaner technology generation and to the promotion of triple bottom line (social, economic, and environmental) sustainable development.