The UNFCCC Secretariat and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) signed an agreement to establish a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) support office in Lomé, Togo.
This first-of-a-kind agreement will support the development of CDM projects in the region and help to address concerns about inequity in regional distribution of CDM projects.
16 October 2012: The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Secretariat and the West African Development Bank (BOAD) have signed a partnership agreement to establish a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) support office in Lomé, Togo, to support the development of CDM projects in the region.
The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reductions (CERs) that can be sold, traded and used by industrialized countries to meet emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. The UNFCCC Secretariat notes that inequity in regional distribution of CDM projects has been a consistent concern of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, in part due to disparities in human and institutional capacity. To address such concerns, the UNFCCC Secretariat plans to establish additional CDM regional support offices in Asia, the Caribbean, Francophone Africa, and Latin America in coming months.
Christiana Figueres, UNFCCC Executive Secretary, said the field offices will help underrepresented countries to benefit from the CDM by “enhanc[ing] capacity building and provid[ing] hands-on support to CDM project developers, thereby reducing the risk for investors in such projects.”
CDM support activities aim to: identify opportunities for potential projects and activity programmes eligible under the CDM; provide support in developing project design documents; clarify and address problems identified by third-party validators; and identify priority areas for the development of standardized baselines. Each partnership will establish its own independent work plans tailored to regional needs. [UNFCCC Press Release]