Continent Beginning
to Access Clean Development Mechanism: More
Opportunities emerging Say Experts
Marrakesh, Morocco, 6
July 2011 - With more than 1,100 registered
participants, the Africa Carbon Forum, the
leading regional trade fair and knowledge
sharing platform for carbon investments,
has demonstrated that Africa is an increasingly
attractive destination for Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) projects, as investors seek
new opportunities for growth in the voluntary
market as well as the CDM.
The annual event, which
was held in Marrakesh from 4-6 July, marked
the 10th anniversary of the Marrakesh Accords
- the adoption of the rules that govern
the CDM. It brought together project developers,
buyers, service providers, national CDM
representatives and various other private
and public sector stakeholders, all hoping
to tap the potential of carbon
offset projects on the
continent.
Highlighting the prospects
for the continent, Christiana Figueres,
UNFCCC Executive Secretary, noted that there
is an increasing number of CDM projects
in several countries in Africa. "The
opportunities in Africa are increasing.
I am convinced that the growing interest
in CDM projects will help turn the tide
and contribute to firmly positioning Africa's
opportunities for the carbon market landscape
beyond 2012. This shows that the efforts
of the Nairobi Framework partners in capacity
building and the steps taken by the CDM
Executive Board to streamline the process
are bearing fruit," she said at the
Forum.
Africa accounts for
only two percent of the 3,220-plus registered
CDM projects in 71 countries worldwide.
However, research suggests that there is
a great deal of untapped potential for CDM
on the continent, which has seen a strong
growth trend in the past few years, as well
as increasing private sector interest.
There are now 190 CDM
projects at different stages of the pipeline
in Africa. This is up from 170 projects
at the end of 2010, 130 in 2009, 90 in 2008
and just 53 in 2007. Recent data from the
UNEP Risoe Centre show that in the last
three years there has been a relatively
higher number of projects initiated in Africa
than globally.
"The offset project
landscape in Africa is changing. The increased
appreciation of and interest in the CDM
here is starting to transform access to
markets, as the PoA statistics indicate.
It is obvious that the capacity-building
efforts are paying off and the message is
getting out.
Now, more than ever,
we need the long-term market signals for
Africa clarified," said Neeraj Prasad,
Manager for the Climate Change Practice
at the World Bank Institute.
According to the organizers
of the Forum, the most promising development,
one that holds particular benefits for Africa,
is the growth in the CDM Programme of Activities
(PoA) approach. Of the nine programmes so
far registered globally, three are in Africa.
More are in the works.
Under PoA, an unlimited
number of similar projects, over a wide
geographical area, can be included under
a single administrative umbrella. This means
that many smaller projects that would not
have been feasible under CDM before can
now be bundled together reducing transaction
costs, while becoming more attractive for
CDM finance.
"Programmatic CDM
is clearly seen as a very attractive option
by African countries and project developers.
The number of PoAs in Africa is now almost
23 per cent of the existing PoAs. This is
a much higher percentage than Africa's share
of all CDM projects. The increasing knowledge
and
interest of regional
participants is very evident at this Forum.
Since 2010, when the Africa Carbon Forum
was hosted by UNEP in Nairobi, our efforts
to engage the private sector and finance
institutions in the region through targeted
capacity building and piloting partnerships
between the public and the private sector
are clearly bearing fruit," said John
Christensen, Head of
the UNEP Risoe Centre.
The ACF is an important
effort under the banner of the Nairobi Framework
to help extend the reach of the CDM, according
to Henry Derwent, president and CEO of the
International Emissions Trading Association
(IETA). "For commercial as well as
political reasons, the carbon offset market
is now focused on Africa, whether for CDM
projects or voluntary offsets,
renewable energy, forestry
or land-use. The ACF is helping Africa understand
and seize the opportunities," said
Henry Derwent.
Reducing Emissions from
Deforestation and Degradation (REDD) was
also a principal focus of attention at the
ACF, along with the development of the concept
of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions
(NAMAs), under discussion at the UNFCCC
negotiations.
The African Carbon Forum
is held under the Nairobi Framework, an
initiative launched to help developing countries,
particularly those in sub-Saharan Africa,
to increase their participation in the CDM.
Launched in November
2006 by then Secretary-General Kofi Annan,
the Nairobi Framework's partners now include
the United Nations Environment Programme
(UNEP) and its Risoe Centre, the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the
World Bank and its World Bank Institute,
the United Nations Institute for Training
and Research (UNITAR), the United Nations
Conference on Trade
and Development (UNCTAD), the African Development
Bank, the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change secretariat and the International
Emissions Trading Association (IETA).
About the CDM
The CDM allows emission-reduction
projects in developing countries to earn
certified
emission reductions
(CERs), each equivalent to one tonne of
CO2. CERs can be traded and sold, and used
by industrialized countries to meet a part
of their emission reduction targets under
the Kyoto Protocol. The CDM assists countries
in achieving sustainable development and
emission reductions, in addition to reducing
their emissions, while giving industrialized
countries
some flexibility in
how they meet their emission targets.
About the UNFCCC
With 195 Parties, the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) has near universal membership
and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto
Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified
by 193 of the UNFCCC Parties. Under the
Protocol, 37 States, consisting of highly
industrialized countries and countries undergoing
the process of transition to a market economy,
have legally binding emission limitation
and reduction commitments. The ultimate
objective of both treaties is to stabilize
greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that will prevent dangerous human
interference with the climate system.
