The "Sustainable Development" aspect of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) under the Kyoto Protocol is examined, with regard to its current impact on crucial developmental issues. The paper discusses the immediate and urgent global concerns of developmental needs, energy and climate change, whilst highlighting their influence on the poor in the developing world. The global responses to address the above concerns in terms of renewable energy technologies, policies and strategies that can be instrumental in addressing the issues are discussed, with main emphasis on the CDM under the Kyoto Protocol. The critical issue of whether the CDM can address poverty alleviation and sustainable development in developing countries is discussed in the context of existing market principles, transparency of the mechanism, economics and the daunting bureaucratic procedures involved. The paper concludes that the CDM, if suitably modified, can go some way to address sustainable development and alleviate poverty for poor rural areas and not increase emissions by a focus on renewable energy technologies. This result can be achieved as the energy consumption of rural sectors is currently so small relative to developed economics that only small additional renewable energy generation capacities are needed to make a measurable difference. (C) 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.