By MediaGlobal News Service
3 November 2008 [MEDIAGLOBAL]: Kenyan Vice President Kalonzo Musyoka announced this week that Kenya would enhance its technical capacity to profit from the global carbon trading market. Under the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) gives developed countries the option to invest in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries in order to meet their own emissions reduction commitments. So far, China and Brazil have benefited the most from CDM, but United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Kenya Representative David Githaiga told MediaGlobal, “Kenya, like many countries in Africa, is working to position itself to access carbon finance through CDM. The truth is, Africa in general has been left behind in terms of benefiting from the mechanism.” The UNDP and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) CDM capacity development program is designed to tackle barriers that prevent Kenya, Mauritius, Ethiopia, Tanzania, Zambia and Mozambique from participating in the mechanism. “Lack of awareness, low technical capacity on the part of the government and key stakeholders and low private sector participation are the key barriers the program is trying to address,” said Githaiga. By addressing these barriers, the program will not only help African countries, but also benefit developed countries that have not been able to decrease their greenhouse gas emissions in their own countries. Additionally, Githaiga said, “Carbon finance has the potential to significantly supplement Official Development Assistance (ODA) that is flowing into African countries. Other benefits include promoting technology transfer and obvious environmental benefits.”
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