José Domingos Miguez, Chairperson,
CDM Executive Board,
UNFCCC Cooperative Mechanism Program,
PO Box 260124
D-53153, Bonn, Germany

Granada, Spain, 14th July 2006

Dear Mr. Domingos Miguez, dear Members of the Executive Board,

Solar Cookers International (consultative status UN ECOSOC) and the TERRA Foundation of Barcelona have sponsored the Solar Cooking and Food Processing International Conference, Granada, July 12 –16, where this document has been unanimously approved by resolution:

“The Conference has recognised with pleasure that a first CDM project on solar cookers has been registered by UNFCCC. This is a positive successful example of public – private partnership, having the potential to be expanded for even greater impact in the future. However, the Conference is deeply concerned by changes in the methodology which will affect future projects saving non-renewable biomass. This change indicates that the use of non-renewable biomass will no longer be permitted as a baseline technology, as was the case in the first CDM solar cooker project.

Furthermore, the Conference has recognised that the CDM Small Scale Working Group has submitted a proposal for calculating the emission reduction based on a hypothetical switch from non-renewable biomass to fossil fuel. But this proposed baseline would discourage further CDM projects based on solar cookers, as it allows only about 25% of the savings based on the real baseline, according to ISO14064-2. In seeking the way forward, the Conference endorses the submission of the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) for the meeting of the UNFCCC CDM Executive Board on July 19-21, 2006 (see letter attached). This IETA submission proposes an alternative baseline which would safeguard, in the interim, the feasibility of CDM projects based on solar cookers. The Conference, therefore, asks the Board to approve this submission.

However, the Conference wants to emphasize that a full recognition of non-renewable biomass should be considered as a long-term objective, and requests UNFCCC to take the necessary steps to overcome the still existing hurdles.”

Sincerely,