Highlights from the Africa Carbon Forum in Addis Ababa

Highlights for Friday, 20 April 2012
DAILY WEB COVERAGE
| Wed 18 April | Thu 19 April | Fri 20 April |
The fourth Africa Carbon Forum concluded its discussions today at the United Nations Conference Centre in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Participants convened over three days to discuss the latest developments in the carbon market and to identify means by which the Kyoto Protocol’s Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other mitigation mechanisms can be successfully applied in Africa. Today’s meeting included plenary sessions on forestry and agriculture and on global perspectives on the future demands for offsets; two round table discussions on benefits to Africa from “climate smart agriculture” and on carbon market linkages. Two workshops were also conducted on new market mechanisms and on REDD+ linkages between projects and national frameworks. As well, two training sessions provided participants with information on establishing national/regional grid emission factors and on carbon and sustainable agriculture land management. John Kilani closed the Forum at 5:20pm.
	L-R: Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, Director-General, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA), Ethiopia, congratulates Henry Derwent, President and CEO, IETA, at the closing of the Forum.

Forestry and Agriculture

L-R: Pierre Nguinda, African Development Bank (AfDB); Ellysar Baroudy, World Bank; H.E. Takalign Mamo, State Minister, Ministry of Agriculture, Ethiopia; Yinka Agidee, The Rock and Partners; and Cheri Sugal, Director, Terra Global Capital

Pierre Nguinda, AfDB, said Africa has many forest assets to attract pilot projects. Cheri Sugal, Director, Terra Global Capital, said that developing a REDD+ "pathway" is critical.

Girma Balcha, Climate Change Forum, Ethiopia Sadiq Galaudu, Aminu Kanu Teaching Hospital, Nigeria Abdel-Hamid Mahamat Ali, Société Tchadienne de Prestations Etudes et Réalisations

Round Table: Climate Smart Agriculture - Can Africa benefit from new developments in agriculture?

View of the packed Round Table session on "Climate Smart Agriculture".

L-R: Ademola Braimoh, World Bank; and Bo Lager, Vi Agriculture L-R: Christine Negra, Commission for Sustainable Agriculture and Climate Change; and Tom Owiyo, UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA).

Workshop: New Market Mechanisms - what can work for Africa?

Andrei Marcu, Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), stressed the need for consistent standards. Brice Quesnel, World Bank, discussed World Bank initiatives on new market mechanisms. Chaitanya Kalia, Ernst & Young, moderated the session.

L-R: Giza Gaspar Martins, Ministry of Environment, Angola; Brice Quesnel, World Bank; Chaitanya Kalia, Ernst & Young; and Andrei Marcu, CEPS

Future demands for offsets - a global perspective

L-R: Jonathan Shopley, Managing Director, CarbonNeutral; Edward Hanrahan, Executive Director, ClimateCare; Henry Derwent, President and CEO, International Emmisions Trading Association (IETA); Jürgen Lefevere, European Commission; and Hervé Allegre, Managing Director, CDC Climat

Jonathan Shopley, Managing Director, CarbonNeutral, called for partnerships in a maturing carbon market. Edward Hanrahan, Executive Director, ClimateCare, applauded the Ethiopian cookstoves project. Jürgen Lefevere, European Commission, said offsetting alone cannot solve the climate problem.

Round Table: Connecting carbon markets developing linkages in a fragmented era

Robert Dornau, CEO, CarbonFlow, said that it is a political decision whether to "link or not". Muyideem Kazim, Standard Bank, endorsed the use of existing systems. Michael Schlup, Bunge Emissions Group, outlined the advantages of linking carbon markets.

L-R: Robert Dornau, CEO, Carbonflow; Michael Schlup, Bunge Emissions Group; Jan-Willem Beukers, Eneco; Henry Derwent, President and CEO, IETA; and Muyideem Kazim, Standard Bank

REDD+ Linkages between projects and national frameworks

Girma Amente, Chief Executive, Oromia Forest and Wildlife Enterprise, Ethiopia, called for guidance in nesting REDD+ into national schemes. Ellysar Baroudy, World Bank, moderated the session. Bruno Guay, UNDP, spoke of REDD+ experiences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Closing Plenary

L-R: Miriam Hinostroza, UNEP Risoe Centre; Kai-Uwe Schmidt, World Bank; Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, Ethiopian EPA; John Kilani, UNFCCC; Henry Derwent, President and CEO, IETA; and Youba Sokona, ACPC

L-R: John Kilani, UNFCCC, presented a token of appreciation to Henry Derwent, President and CEO, IETA, for his years of service and contribution to the Forum.

Exhibitions

L-R: Tewolde Berhan Gebre Egziabher, Director-General, Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) (second) with the ENB team, Hugh Wilkins, Canada; Franz Dejon, the Philippines and Suzi Malan, South Africa Source: http://www.iisd.ca/africa/carbon/acf/acf4/