SADC Member States are slowly warming up to wider adoption of cleaner energy sources that result in less carbon emissions in line with new trends in the global energy sector.

Following a presentation by a consultant during the Energy Ministers meeting early this year, the ministers directed the SADC Secretariat to explore opportunities for Member States to embrace more actively the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which has emerged as the most lucrative source of "carbon financing".

The CDM allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement emission reduction projects in developing countries.

It also enables developing countries to increase energy access while limiting green house gas emissions by harnessing clean energy sources such as hydropower, wind, solar and bio fuels.

According to available data, southern Africa has benefited the least among all the regions of the continent from the US$7 billion annual CDM market.

Since the European Union began trading "carbon credits" through its Emissions Trading Scheme in 2005, only 71 of the 2,156 CDM projects included under the scheme have been registered in Africa and of these 33 are in southern Africa.

South Africa accounts for the majority of the projects with 25 having been approved by August 2008.

Other countries that have benefited in the region include the United Republic of Tanzania with three projects, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with two, and Madagascar, Mauritius and Mozambique with one each.

Based on an analysis by the Southern African Development Community, a total of 19,000 Megawatts (MW) worth of generation projects can be commissioned under the CDM in the region, resulting in surplus energy for Member States.

Some of the CDM projects under development include a solar plant in Botswana, hydropower stations in the DRC and Mozambique and solar water heaters in South Africa.

A 2008 report by the African Development Bank (AfDB) provides evidence of the continent’s potential in adopting the CDM.

For instance, the AfDB notes that Sub-Saharan Africa has potential to provide more than 170 gigawatts (GW) of additional power generation capacity -- more than double the sub-region’s current installations -- through 3,200 "low-carbon" energy projects.

The SADC Secretariat says there is need for more coordinated initiatives in the implementation of CDM energy projects, knowledge capacity building programmes and a thematic approach to the adoption of CDM in the region.

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