Three weeks until Copenhagen: Where do we stand?

The recently concluded negotiations in Barcelona were the last formal session in the run-up to Copenhagen. It was preceded by several high level climate change summits organized by the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS), the UN Secretary General, the Major Economies Forum, and the G-20 Meeting in Pittsburgh.

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CDM in Africa: Facing the hurdle of conventional finance

Climate change poses many threats to the world as a whole and to Africa in particular. The threat of an increase in droughts and floods looms larger on a continent where the population is already struggling to make ends meet. It therefore makes sense for Africa to get involved in the fight against climate change.

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CDM after 2012 — unchartered territory?

Philippine project developers find out ways of preparing for an uncertain future. With a huge potential for further projects and less obstacles than one might think, the outlook is not that gloomy at all.

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Opportunities and risks — the carbon credit market on the eve of Copenhagen

As regular readers of our weekly market report will have noted, the carbon credit market has faced a tough year with many challenges and difficulties. Following a phase of almost uninterrupted price increases for carbon credits until the summer of last year, we saw prices falling sharply until March this year; no doubt the crash of Lehman Brothers added extra momentum.

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First Climate completes first inter-registry transfer in the voluntary market

First Climate has successfully completed the first inter-registry transfer of voluntary emission reduction (VER) certificates, between the APX and the Markit registries. Both the APX and Markit Registries facilitate the issuance and transfer of VERs, which have been verified in accordance with the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS).

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First Climate receives approval for new CDM methodology and opens up market for sustainable biofuel projects

First Climate announced in October the approval of a new and long-awaited Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) methodology involving the use of biodiesel from plant oil of dedicated plantations to replace fossil fuels in existing stationary installations and/or in vehicles.

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And yet it moves.
Success stories and drivers of CDM project development in sub-Saharan Africa

Case studies compiled and analyzed for UNEP Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) by First Climate experts:
Sascha Lafeld, Member of the Executive Board
Nikolaus Schultze, Director Project Finance
Alina Averchenkova, Senior Analyst

What has prevented the CDM from achieving its full potential in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa?

Firstly, the number of projects with robust and therefore ‘bankable’ business plans is very limited.
Secondly, CDM needs to leverage private sector finance. Private sector investments will, however, only take place if the overall economic environment in a given country and / or region is attractive.
Thirdly, in many instances there is a lack of local capacity – among both public as well as private stakeholders – to develop CDM projects. Finally, the CDM process - due to its reduced scale in Africa - is further affected by an absence of Designated Operational Entities (DOEs) in the region and a lack of know-how and expertise among international DOEs with regard to local circumstances.

The report shows that despite the challenges encountered in sub-Saharan countries, a number of CDM projects have been successfully implemented, generating financial, environmental, and developmental returns. Their success relied on best practice by both public and private sector actors that have scope for replication and expansion.

The success drivers identified fall under three broad categories:
1. The institutional framework for the private sector to operate in;
2. The institutional framework for climate change related projects to succeed;
3. Project specific factors.

Recommendations for policy makers as well as for investors and finance providers round off the report. For download visit http://www.unepfi.org

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