23 February 2012: The UNFCCC Secretariat has launched a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) Radio Club for Africa, aimed at promoting awareness of the CDM in Africa and extending the CDM to communities that are yet to benefit from it.

The Radio Club is open to radio journalists and radio stations in Africa. Its objectives are to: increase the number of African radio journalists reporting on the CDM, and facilitate distribution of their stories as widely as possible on the continent; and serve as a platform for dialogue on environmental issues, including the CDM, among African radio broadcasters.

Radio journalists joining the club will be able to: have their stories broadcast by several radio stations in Africa; form new partnerships; and enter a contest to win various prizes, including a possible free trip to the UN climate change conference. Radio stations will be able to select from a variety of free broadcast-ready radio packages.

Experienced broadcasters from various parts of Africa have already produced a variety of radio stories, including on: deforestation in Uganda; efficient cook stoves in Zambia; paper briquettes in Nigeria; afforestation; CDM benefits; plant composting in Uganda; climate change mitigation in Kenya; the CDM in Nigeria; the CDM in Malawi; solar water heaters in South Africa; water; landfill gas to electricity; and the CDM in Durban, South Africa. [CDM Radio Club for Africa Webpage]