New all-Africa carbon forum to be held in Senegal in September 2008
Conference, trade fair and capacity-development to boost private sector participation in CDM on continent -- IETA, UNEP,
UNDP, WB, AfDB and UNFCCC
Responding to calls for more clean development mechanism (CDM) projects in Africa and growing carbon market interest in
the continent, partner UN agencies and the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) announced on Thursday they
will organize a carbon forum in Senegal under the umbrella of the Nairobi Framework.
In November 2006, then Secretary-General Kofi Annan announced the Nairobi Framework, aimed at spreading the benefits of
CDM. Since then, several more projects have been launched in Africa, but Africa still accounts for just 2.6 per cent of
the more than 860 CDM projects now registered in 49 developing countries.
Yvo de Boer, Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN's top
climate change official, expressed his satisfaction with the announcement.
"That Africa can attract an international carbon market event, such as the Carbon Forum, is a strong indication that
businesses see potential there. For the Nairobi Framework to be effective and truly help Africa reap more benefits from
CDM, effective collaboration between the Framework partners and the private sector is essential. The Africa Carbon Forum
is such a collaboration," Mr. de Boer said.
IETA president Andrei Marcu said his association of more than 170 international companies "is excited about the prospect
of holding this first ever Africa Carbon Forum in Senegal, and in particular with the partners of the Nairobi Framework.
The IETA trade mission earlier this year showed the interest and willingness of industry to implement CDM in Africa
effectively."
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the World Bank, African
Development Bank (AfDB) and the UNFCCC secretariat have joined to implement the Nairobi Framework.
"UNDP considers climate change to hit at the very heart of its development mission. Climate change threatens to
seriously undermine efforts to eliminate poverty and reach the Millennium Development Goals, particularly in the least
developed countries," said Yannick Glemarec, UNDP–GEF Executive Coordinator.
Under the CDM, projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and contribute to sustainable development can earn saleable
certified emission reduction credits (CERs). Countries with a commitment under the Kyoto Protocol can use the CERs to
meet a part of their obligations under the Protocol.
"In Africa, efforts to capture CDM benefits are accelerating, supported by a number of individual and joint UN efforts.
Overcoming the complexity of the CDM and general investment barriers cannot be done overnight; however, our sustained
efforts are producing results. The Africa Carbon Forum will provide a unique opportunity for countries in the region to
present their projects," said John Christensen, Head of UNEP RISO Centre, based in Denmark.
Konrad von Ritter, Sector Manager for Sustainable Development at the World Bank Institute, pointed to real
accomplishments in the past year: "There has been a notable increase in capacity development and a growing pipeline of
CDM projects, including 14 with already signed Emissions Reduction Purchase Agreements with World Bank Carbon Funds.
While this is positive, we all know that more needs to be done, and therefore the critical importance of the Nairobi
Framework to scale up capacity development," Mr. von Ritter said.
For that purpose, the Nairobi Framework partners have presented a comprehensive Joint Program Proposal for which they
are seeking donor support. The Africa Carbon Forum will be an important element of this scaling-up effort.
About the CDM
There are currently more than 860 registered CDM projects in 49 countries, and about another 2000 projects in the
project registration pipeline. The CDM is expected to generate more than 2.6 billion certified emission reductions
(tradable CERs) by the time the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol ends in 2012, each equivalent to one tonne
of carbon dioxide.
ENDS