Carbon2Green's mission is to establish activities in developing countries certified as CDM projects that will reduce the emission of greenhouse gases and therefore result in the issuance of carbon credits by the competent authorities.
Ideally, all projects should be self-financing and generate profits for the company by way of carbon credits that can be sold on the carbon market.
Although several categories of projects may qualify as certified activities, Carbon2Green intends to focus initially on projects that involve the sequestration of CO2, forest conservation, the production of biofuels in the forestry and agricultural circles, the recovery and promotion of methane gas, and finally, hydro-electric projects.
These projects will be carried out mainly in Africa since UN authorities have clearly stated their willingness to see such projects implemented on that continent. That being said, the Executive Secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Mr. Yvo de Boer, wrote in a UN-issued press release dated December 6, 2007: (translation) "There are 850 CDM projects in 49 developing countries, but only 23 of these projects are in Africa. It is time that the benefits of this important mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol reach Africa."
The fact that these words have been echoed by several speakers at the "CarbonExpo" held in Cologne in May 2008 has convinced us that many government agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) will be interested in working with us to realize our projects, which will only stimulate economic activities in Africa, thus improving the environment and living conditions of the local populations. The difficulties that Africa faces in attracting investors interested in CDMs arise from its limited financial and economic resources. Adding to the challenges are the shortage of qualified personnel in various technical fields, finding the management teams that meet the CDM standards necessary to develop these projects, and the weakness of its economic institutions.
To promote the development of CDM projects in Africa, a coalition of UN agencies and other development organizations, including the United Nations Program for Environment, the United Nations Development Program, the Secretariat Convention United Nations Framework on Climate Change, the World Bank and the African Development Bank have prepared a memorandum called the Nairobi Framework.
The objectives of the Nairobi Framework are:
- to develop local and national capacity for the design and realization of CDM projects;
- to promote awareness among African governments and other leaders in the private sector of the opportunities that CDM provide;
- to encourage better cooperation between African governments when it comes to corporate stock so as to attract further "green investments";
- to strengthen the coordination between various governmental and non-governmental organizations when it comes to rationalizing projects and local accreditation process in order to shorten the time required for such projects.
Carbon2Green is participating in the next Carbon African Forum to be held in Senegal in the fall of 2008. This forum will highlight the potential that Africa represents to those who invest in "green development" projects.
But Carbon2Green is not limited to these projects and to the African continent. In the near future, we will propose CDM projects to several governments on other various continents in the following sectors;
- improving energy efficiency of end-uses;
- improving energy efficiency in the supply of energy;
- creating renewable energy including the installation of small hydro-electric dams;
- finding substitutes for fossil fuels
and generating energy using biomass;
- agriculture (reduction of CH4 and N2O emissions);
- industrial processes (reduction of CO2, HFCs, PFCs, SF6 emissions);
- carbon absorption initiatives;
- recovery of methane (CH4) from landfill sites.
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