Crediting period

The crediting period for a CDM project activity is the period for which reductions from the baseline are
verified and certified by a designated operational entity for the purpose of issuance of certified emission
reductions (CERs). Project participants shall choose the starting date of a crediting period to be after the
date the first emission reductions are generated by the CDM project activity. A crediting period shall not
extend beyond the operational lifetime of the project activity.
The crediting period may only start after the date of registration of the proposed activity as a CDM
project activity. In exceptional cases, for project activities starting between 1 January 2000 and the date
of the registration of a first clean development mechanism project, the starting date of the crediting
period may be prior to the date of registration of the project activity if the project activity is submitted for
registration before 31 December 2005 (please refer to paras 12 and 13 of decision 17/CP.7, paragraph 1
(c) of decision 18/CP.9 and clarifications by the Executive Board, available on the UNFCCC CDM web
site).
The project participants may choose between two options for the length of a crediting period: (i) fixed
crediting period or (ii) renewable crediting period, as defined in paragraph 49 (a) and (b) of the
CDM M & P.
SOURCE: GUIDELINES FOR COMPLETING CDM-PDD, CDM-NMB and CDM-NMM