17 November 2009: According to figures compiled by the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the number of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects that are being planned or have been registered across the African region is increasing.
UNEP reports that a total of 112 CDM projects in Africa are at the stage of validation, requesting registration or have been registered, worth about €212 million a year. This is an increase from previous years, with 78 projects in 2008 and two in 2004. This is also in contrast to the number of projects flowing into other regions – about 3,700 in the Asia Pacific region and almost 820 in the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Experts say these figures underline the importance of African governments supporting smart market mechanisms in order to manage some of the special kinds of risk that might be holding back such projects in Africa, and also pressing for reform of the CDM ahead of the Conference of the Parties (COP-15) to the UNFCCC in December.
The data compilation also shows, inter alia, that a total of 23 African countries now participate in the CDM, and that by 2012, a total of 260 African CDM projects could be operating or under approval. Some positive developments, such as the establishment of the CDM programme of activities, were also highlighted. Under the CDM programme of activities, many smaller projects can be bundled into one large project, resulting in larger emission reductions and potentially being more attractive to investors. Over the past 12 months, several programmes of activities involving Africa have been submitted to the CDM Executive Board for approval, with an estimated one-third of submitted CDM programmes of activities involving the region. [UNEP Press Release]