China could give Africa the boost it needs to lay necessary groundwork for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer told Xinhua.
"China has been very successful in encouraging private sector participation in CDM. A good part of that success is due to the government’s decision to pursue CDM, and its success in laying the policy and procedural groundwork for CDM," said de Boer.
"Outside Africa, the CDM has been a great success. It has provided an important source of investment and financial flows for clean development, it has stimulated technology transfer and two percent of credits issued under the CDM are going toward adaptation to climate change," de Boer said at the opening ceremony of the Africa Carbon Forum in Dakar which was held September 3-5.
Under the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, the CDM allows 40 industrialized countries with greenhouse gas reduction commitments to invest in projects the reduce emissions in developing countries. While de Boer noted Africa is the hardest hit by climate change, there are more than 1,150 CDM projects in 49 countries, but only 27 of those countries are located in Africa.
The Executive Secretary said that China was aware of the threat posed by climate change and is already taking steps to reduce emission.