Date: 03/03/2010
Source: United Nations Environment Programme
Title: Unep: Steiner: Remarks by the Unep executive director at opening of the second Africa Carbon Forum, Nairobi

His Excellency Hon Mwai Kibaki, President of the Republic of Kenya Hon. J.
K. Kiptanui, Assistant Minister for environment, Kenya. John Kilani,
Director Sustainable Development Mechanisms programme, UN Framework
Convention on Climate Change Distinguished guests, delegates, colleagues,
ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the UN Office at Nairobi-the headquarters
of UNEP and UN-Habitat. Welcome to the place where the Nairobi Framework was
forged in 2006. Where a few years earlier Kofi Annan, the former UN
Secretary General received the ratification papers of the Russian
Federation. These brought the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM) into legal life. We meet just over two months since the UN
climate convention meeting in Copenhagen. Some may have imagined that
Copenhagen and its outcomes might have put a temporary brake on the urgency
to combat climate change and accelerate a transition to a low carbon,
resource efficient Green Economy. Certainly the ambition shown in December
has so far failed to match the challenge and many remain concerned that the
signals to the markets not least on a long term perspective for the price of
carbon, remain too weak. But the 1,000 or so delegates here for the 2nd
Africa Carbon Forum underline that many are determined to forge forward.
Africa sees all too clearly the challenge of unchecked climate change. But
it is resolved too to maximize the opportunities, not least through the CDM
and the catalyzing of clean and renewable energies alongside forestry
projects. Africa is not alone in this. Last week in Bali, at UNEP's
Governing Council/Global Ministerial Environment Forum, the ministers
responsible for the environment signalled their determination to make the UN
climate convention meeting in Mexico later in the year a success. UNEP in
partnership with others is also gearing up and sharpening its activities in
support of an accelerated and comprehensive response to climate change
including the via the carbon markets. In Copenhagen, we launched three
flagships and advisory services.
* Ecosystem Based Adaptation-this will offer member states services on how
best to incorporate ecosystem adaptation into national climate, development
and sectoral strategies.
* REDD+- this will offer member states services on how to incorporate
reduced emissions from deforestation and carbon capture and storage from
other terrestrial ecosystems in national climate, development and sectoral
strategies.
* Clean Tech Readiness-building on an extensive body work on smart market
mechanisms and other hurdles to barriers, UNEP will offer member states
services on how best to incorporate renewable energies and energy efficient
technologies in national climate, development and sectoral strategies.
This work dovetails with new initiatives being carried out in partnership
with others including the UN Industrial and Development Organization
(UNIDO); UNDP and the World Bank.
* Technology Needs Assessment-Over 30 countries to be supported in
determining their specific low greenhouse gas technology needs: 15 countries
are in the first phase, with others coming on board through 2010.
* Green Economy Advisory Services-Over two dozen countries or relevant
national institutions have requested or have signalled they would like
assistance on how to tailor a low carbon, resource efficient Green Economy
approach to national development strategies.
There will be a strong focus here in Africa-a Continent with an abundant and
inordinate potential for clean energy and carbon markets. A potential that
is in many ways only just being realized for a variety of reasons not least
because of the need for capacity building of relevant institutions including
financial ones. Not least because Africa, alongside other developing economy
regions, has some special hurdles to leap from questions of the
convertibility of currencies to the size and thus the attractiveness of
projects available. This reality is mirrored in an assessment, literally
compiled in the last 24 hours, by UNEP's Risoe Centre on the number of CDM
projects approved or in the pipeline.
* These show that of the nearly 4,890 CDM projects registered or in the
pipeline world-wide, only 122 are in Africa
* However, the statistics also reveal that this is up from just 42
Africa-wide in 2007; 75 in 2008 and 116 in 2009.
The statistics also show a great deal of unevenness which in part reflects
the size of some economies versus others but also underline special
challenges and a great need to step up support in some nations.
* South Africa for example has 32 CDM projects in various phases of
submission and approval; followed by Kenya with 15; Egypt with 13 and Uganda
with 12.
* After that numbers tail off quite quickly to Morocco with nine; Nigeria
with 8; the Democratic Republic of Congo and Tanzania with five each and
many other countries with just one or two.
* Equatorial Guinea is among several countries that has zero CDM projects.
Financing through the CDM is part-perhaps 10 per cent or more- of the
financial attractiveness of an investment. But the regional development
banks and private banks have a role not least in assessing and managing the
risk and raising the funds needed to light a clean energy path on this
Continent. Thus I am delighted with the announcement yesterday by UNEP and
its Risoe Centre, Standard Bank and the German Government on the
establishment of the Africa Carbon Asset Development Facility to do just
this. National policies can also be a key driver. Kenya's total shows a leap
to 14 in 2009 from five the year before. Could the establishment of a
feed-in tariff have played a key role in the attractiveness of CDM projects
including the 300 MW wind farm in Turkana region? Your Excellency,
distinguished guests, other opportunities are emerging including the funding
of forest conservation programmes funded under the Reduced Emissions from
Deforestation and forest Degradation initiative-a bright point in Copehagen.
But it does not end here. UNEP, with funding from the Global Environment
Facility, are working with farmers and landowners in China, Kenya, Nigeria
and Niger on assessing carbon sequestration in vegetation and soils under
various management regimes. It may lead to carbon payments for those
involved in sustainable agriculture. At what of oceans?: UNEP's Blue Carbon
report launched last year, estimated that over half the world's transport
emissions may be being removed and buried by salt marshes; sea grasses and
mangrove forests. Last week in Bali, the Government of Indonesia and UNEP in
collaboration FAO, UNESCO's International Oceanographic Commission and
research centres launched a new science initiative to understand how these
natural carbon capture and storage systems work. Eventually the carbon
markets may be rewarding countries with coasts and coastal communities for
improved management of their seas and oceans. The reality of Copenhagen was
that the world could not in the end find its way to a legally binding new
climate agreement. And although numbers from both developed and developing
countries have now been put on the table, the current pledges on emissions
reductions fall short of the science. The reality of this meeting here in
Nairobi is not that this does not matter-but that we can get on with
bringing clean and renewable energy to those without access while also
combating poverty; pollution and climate change anyway. That the absence of
a legally binding new agreement is not an alibi for inaction, but that
accelerating investment in low carbon energy sources makes sense on a
multiple suite of fronts including in terms of overcoming poverty and
meeting the Millennium Development Goals. And given the right market
incentives and creative market mechanisms we can, in partnership, make it
happen-indeed it already is. The question here is how to build upon what is
already in place and how to ensure that the gains of the past six or so
years are not only fostered but fast forwarded to not just a few but to all
countries and communities on the Continent. Thank you