3 September 2008: A new World Bank report estimates that Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects in sub-Saharan Africa could potentially amount to 740 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per year.

The report, entitled “Low-carbon Energy Projects for Development in sub-Saharan Africa: Unveiling the Potential, Addressing the Barriers,” released during the Africa Carbon Forum in Dakar, Senegal, estimates that the current minimal share of CDM projects by the African region (1.4%) could be greatly enhanced with appropriate measures to overcome existing barriers to project development.
The report addresses the technical potential for greenhouse gas reduction projects in 44 countries in sub-Saharan Africa according to adopted CDM methodologies, and develops an inventory of opportunities for clean energy projects across various sectors (covering supply side and demand side energy efficiency and
renewable energy measures).
Massamba Thioye, co-author of the report, cautions that it focuses on technical opportunities and “the economic analysis would still need to be done on a project by project basis,” noting that “the pipeline of similar projects in other regions shows us that such projects are often economically viable when carbon revenues are added.” [World Bank Press Release]