since the initiation of the CDM scheme, trends in CDM projects have revealed a substantial reliance on local sources of technology. this was in contrast with the expected technology transfers from developed economies who possess far superior expertise in environmental technology. thus, our task was to investigate factors that can explain these developments. a rationale that was pursued in this study suggested that the developing countries already have CFT locally available, and CDM became another enabler for their commercialisation. we investigated macro level data indicating locally available expertise in these technologies and tried to use this data in explanation for technology sourcing trends in CDM projects. a distinction was made between applied and scientific expertise, and the role of each was investigated in technology origin preferences in CDM projects.