20 December 2012: The International Finance Corporation (IFC) and World Bank’s Lighting Africa programme has announced that the clean energy company Barefoot Power has successfully registered its programme of activities under the UNFCCC Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Barefoot Power is a solar lantern manufacturer and distributor whose products replace dirty kerosene lamps. It is the first such kerosene replacing and energy poverty reducing company to be registered under the CDM in recognition of its effect on reducing climate change. Highlighting this, Andrew Barson, Product Manager, Barefoot Power, notes that, “historically it has been too complicated for companies like Barefoot Power who distribute an extensive product line over many continents,” to have such projects registered.

Barefoot Power’s mission is to provide ten million people with clean affordable lighting by 2015 and aims to use the carbon credit revenues generated to improve quality and make its lighting products more affordable. Affordable, quality, solar lighting has proven to have positive outcomes on health, income generation and education. Figures from Lighting Africa demonstrate that the use of solar lighting by four million people in Africa during the past three years has prevented the generation of 78,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions. [Lighting Africa Webpage]