Clean Development Mechanism guide launched by Energy Institute

UCT's Energy Research Institute (ERI) has launched The Clean Development Mechanism: a guide for potential participants in South Africa.

This guide was prepared by Future Energy Solutions (FES) from AEA Technology plc, and the ERI, with the support from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) Climate Change Challenge Fund (CCCF).

The FCO made available some R12-million to fund the Climate Change Challenge Fund.

The Fund, jointly owned by the FCO and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) in the UK, aims to tackle issues around climate change. The Fund's objectives are to:

• help developing countries move towards carbon-intensive economic growth, and
• help developing countries meet convention obligations and take a full role in the Kyoto Protocol.

With the Kyoto Protocol expected to come into force, hot on the heels of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), there is increasing interest in cost-effective and economically viable climate change options. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) may provide South Africa with additional funding opportunities for a wide range of sustainable development and climate change initiatives.

South African companies participating in greenhouse gas mitigation activities may benefit by becoming increasingly competitive in meeting the world's increasing demands for products and services that achieve environmental sustainability.

This guide provides answers to many questions that should be raised by companies and other stakeholders wishing to discover the potential benefits and issues relating to such projects in South Africa.

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