Ecobank explores prospects in carbon market.
Ecobank in collaboration with the World Bank /IFD are putting together synergy in exploring the opportunities there are in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects evaluation and carbon financing structure aimed at ensuring a low carbon economy.
The three day workshop underway in Accra and co hosted by Ecobank brought together participants from both the private and public sectors including banks, insurance companies and other civil society organizations both locally and regionally to harness sufficient information and ammunition to guide their involvement to fully participate and capitalize on opportunities available in Carbon Markets.
Issues to engage attention of participants and take center stage at the workshop would be roadmap mechanisms and strategies at strengthening the capacity of financial institutions in carbon finance and to provide information on how to overcome constraints associated with investing in CDM projects.
Group CEO Mr.Anold Ekpe in a message read on his behalf noted that Africa has a huge potential for tradable emission reduction initiative thus investments in CDM projects in Africa will offer a solution to the double jeopardy of poverty and changing climate patterns which undermines the efforts at achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
He said while investment in technology will improve energy efficiency, the United Nations has projected the Africa's CDM market to generate US$1billion by 2012.
“This means that additional revenue will be available for financing development projects, which will invariably leverage project implementation”. He said he added that the workshop was consistence with the bank's dual mandate to build a world class African Bank and contribute to the socioeconomic and financial development of Africa while delivering superior shareholder returns and investing in capacity building in Africa.
The Clean Development Mechanism, established by Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, allows ratified countries or private entities from those countries to obtain carbon credits by investing in projects that reduce emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol is one of the measures adopted by the international community in 1997 which sets out qualified and binding commitments to limit or reduce Green House emissions for 40 industrialised countries and developing countries to a market economy during the period 2008 to 2012.