The largest regional carbon trade fair in Africa so far is taking place in Kenya from 3 to 5 March 2010. The UNEP Risoe Centre at Risø DTU is responsible for a major part of the event at the UNEP headquarters on the outskirts of Nairobi.
 | Participants from Risø DTU: Head of Centre John Christensen and Energy & carbon finance coordinator Miriam Hinostroza, both working at the UNEP Risoe Centre at Risø DTU. In connection with Carbon Forum the centre also meets with collaborators from other ongoing programmes.
Click here for more information on Carbon Forum and to see the programme for the trade fair
The UNEP Risø Centre at Risø DTU
CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) means that an industrialised country can reduce its CO2 emissions by implementing projects in developing countries limiting the CO2 emissions of these countries. When an agreement is made on a CDM project, the buyer earns CER (Certified Emission Reductions) credits, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2. The purchasing country can add these to its commitments to meet the Kyoto targets. The CER credits can also be sold. CDM is thus a global environmental investment and credit scheme, standardising the trade with CO2 emissions through CERs.
A CDM project could be the electrification of a rural area, using solar cells or it could be replacing obsolete boilers with new, more energy efficient ones. CDM promotes sustainable development and reduce CO2 emissions, while giving industrialised countries some flexibility to meet their reduction targets.
Visit the the UN website.
Carbon Forum has been organised by:
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the UNEP Risoe Centre
- The International Emissions Trading Association (IETA)
- United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
- The World Bank
- The African Development Bank (AfDB)
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The largest regional African fair so far for trading with carbon credits will be held on 3 to 5 March in Nairobi in Kenya. Between 600 and 700 participants have registered. The Africa Carbon Forum is a knowledge sharing platform for carbon investments across the region. At the Carbon Forum, representatives from national authorities, governments and the private sector will meet with investors and carbon credit buyers from the EU, Japan, Australia and increasingly also the U.S., which is considering a carbon trading system.
The aim is to give providers in CDM projects from African countries the opportunity to present their CDM projects to interested buyers from the industrial countries that have reduction targets under the Kyoto protocol. The UNEP Risoe Centre at Risø DTU is one of the main forces behind Africa Carbon Forum.
CDM promotes investments in clean energy
”It is important for us to support CDM activities in Africa, as this region is under-represented globally when it comes to CDM projects. There are several reasons why African countries have been slow to seize the opportunities offered by CDM in terms of promoting investments in clean energy and sustainable development in their own countries” says John Christensen, Head of the UNEP Risoe Centre at Risø DTU.
The institutional capacity of the government is limited, not only regarding CDM. Furthermore, many African countries do not focus on foreign investments. In recent years, the UNEP Risø Centre has worked determinedly to support institutional capacity development and is currently supporting 22 African countries. The centre has just launched a new regional project development facility in South Africa to support project development and commercialisation in collaboration with national and regional banks.
The COP15 decision is going to promote CDM
”Carbon Forum is an important part of our targeted efforts to enhance African countries' capacity within CDM. The fair allows the countries to take an active part in the international CO2 market and reap the benefits of increased funding for sustainable development projects. Carbon Forum provides an opportunity to increase knowledge, meet potential investors and hopefully create a great number of sustainable energy projects in African countries, "says John Christensen.
He adds that one of the few concrete results from COP15 and Copenhagen Accord, which has almost been forgotten in the news flow, was the decision to promote better regional use of CDM, which is also one of the main objectives of the UNEP Risoe Centre.
For more information contact:
Head of Centre, John Christensen, phone 46 77 51 30, mobile 40 17 83 57, email joch@risoe.dtu.dk
Mette Annelie Rasmussen, phone 46 77 51 31, Mobile 26 78 67 18, email meta@risoe.dtu.dk
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