Oportunidades de crecimiento y desarrollo para las empresas colombianas a través del Mecanismo de Desarrollo Limpio (MDL)

introduction. as a measurement to reduce weather change, in 1997 the kioto protocol was adopted, obligating developed countries to reduce their emissions in the 2008-2012 period and establishing flexibility mechanisms in order to help those committed countries to achieve their objectives. cdm is intended for those countries not obligated to reduce emissions, helping them to develop environmentally friendly projects to reduce green house gas emissions. objective. to make a revision about cdm and remark the fact that by the use of this mechanism, industrial, energy and forest companies have great opportunities to grow, obtaining a source for extra income. materials and methods. an analysis with statistics and empirical evidences available at centro nacional de producción más limpia y tecnologías ambientales and unfcc was made. this is secondary information from the companies that have implemented cdm recently. results. this article is a valuable information source about the opportunities provided by cdm to strengthen the balance between companies and the academic sector. conclusions. cdm aligns the objectives ffor which it was designed: first of all, gives developed countries a mechanism to meet their commitment of reduction, at a lower cost; on the other hand, developing countries receive investments and technology transfers, thanks to clean technology based projects and, finally, there is a contribution to accomplish the objective of the convention on weather change: the stabilization of the green house gases emission.