Bali Blog #2 - tech transfer - when will Africa get a look in?

Lack of CDM projects is the reason behind the lack of low carbon technology transfer to Africa, said Yvo de Boer, exec secretary on the UNFCCC in a press conference today.

Whilst Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism projects have been booming in China, India and Brazil, much less CDM financing has reached South Africa, which only has 12 CDM projects currently registered, and few have been set up in the rest of Africa.

"Private sector investment in CDMs are the main drivers behind technology transfer" Yvo de Boer explained. He saw three drivers behind investment in CDMs. "Investors are looking for returns on investment, the size of the market and the risks involved when they invest" he said.

Less developed countries and small island states are being marginalised from the CDM, as they are unable to compete with the returns on investment offered by the industrial scale CDM projects in the emerging economies.

The recent launch of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), a standard for non CDM credits, by the Climate Group and the International Emissions Trading Association may provide an opportunity to less developed countries hoping to gain from the carbon markets. The VCS is likely to be more accessible to smaller projects due to reduction of costs and red tape compared to the CDM.

But will small projects lead to technology transfer? When i talked to Cedric Philibert from the International Energy Agency yesterday, he said low carbon technology transfer to Africa would have to be coupled with training and infrastructure, which sounds like a far larger endeavour.