The UN’s clean air body Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is to look into a number of projects to reduce greenhouse gases which involve Dutch firms, the Volkskrant reports on Tuesday.

The paper says the projects may be encouraging Chinese firms to produce more of the highly potent greenhouse gas Fluoroform, and benefit from millions of euros in subsidies when they destroy it.
The investigation has been prompted by a review of some 2,000 projects to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries. This showed half the realised cuts are due to just 22 projects and these are all connected to removing Fluoroform. The Dutch government is involved in funding seven of them.
The UN estimates each Fluoroform project delivers between €60m and €100m in pollution rights. Of this, some 65% goes to the Chinese companies and the rest to the financial backers, mainly western banks and energy firms, the paper says.
A spokesman for the environment ministry told the paper there is no evidence of any wrong-doing.