- Three days of intense negotiations aimed at improving Africa's standing in the global carbon marketplace came to an end Friday at United Nations-backed Africa Carbon Forum in Senegal.
Under Kyoto Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), industrialised countries can offset some of their own greenhouse gas emissions to earn certified emission reduction credits.
Some 600 participants from 60 countries attended the Carbon Forum in Senegalese capital, Dakar, including 36 government representatives responsible for initial approval of emissions offset projects.
In one deal completed at the Forum, World Bank entered into an agreement with a local agency to spread use of energy-efficient light bulbs through rural Senegal.
At the same time, several African countries pledged $20 million to go towards Africa Bio-fuels and Renewable Energy Fund, a public/private sector partnership tasked with assessing carbon offset projects.
"Much remains to be done in the form of awareness-raising and capacity-building before African countries can take full advantage of CDM, but progress is being made, and we saw it here," said Daniele Violetti of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The continent still accounts for only 27 of more than 1,150 CDM projects currently registered in nearly 50 developing nations, but that number is expected to grow.
afrol News - It is called "financial inclusion", and it is a key government policy in Rwanda. The goal is that, by 2020, 90 percent of the population is to have and actively use bank accounts. And in only four years, financial inclusion has doubled in Rwanda.
afrol News - The UN's humanitarian agencies now warn about a devastating famine in Sudan and especially in South Sudan, where the situation is said to be "imploding". Relief officials are appealing to donors to urgently fund life-saving activities in the two countries.
afrol News - Fear is spreading all over West Africa after the health ministry in Guinea confirmed the first Ebola outbreak in this part of Africa. According to official numbers, at least 86 are infected and 59 are dead as a result of this very contagious disease.
afrol News - It is already a crime being homosexual in Ethiopia, but parliament is now making sure the anti-gay laws will be applied in practical life. No pardoning of gays will be allowed in future, but activist fear this only is a signal of further repression being prepared.
afrol News / Africa Renewal - Ethiopia's ambitious plan to build a US$ 4.2 billion dam in the Benishangul-Gumuz region, 40 km from its border with Sudan, is expected to provide 6,000 megawatts of electricity, enough for its population plus some excess it can sell to neighbouring countries.
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