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Climate change and the governance of carbon trading projects in Southern Africa
This project takes the Corruption & Governance Programme into an important new area of work: climate change. In fact, although recognised as a critical issue of our time, detrimental climate change has only recently emerged on the African policy agenda. The globally dominant response to climate change, the market-based system of carbon trading, has assumed an even more marginal position in the continental consciousness in spite of its proposed direct impact.
Although a new phenomenon, there is significant and increasing volume of work that has emerged on carbon trading and its associated clean development mechanism and voluntary offset projects. In as much as this project hopes to contribute thus, it is also keenly aware that it sometimes lacks an African perspective in its nature and scope, which this research seeks to address. The more general focus is also to begin to engage African governments and inter-governmental organisations on the salient issues from an informed yet critical basis.
This exploratory project aims to understand the nature and complexities of carbon trading as it impacts on Africa with the following key objectives:
- To outline the basics about carbon trading; its genesis, history, tenets/components and practices (includes debates on carbon trading)
- To highlight the African policy guidelines, influences, and approaches on carbon trading
- To explore the projects that are currently being undertaken and the guiding motivations for and methods in their implementation
- To explore and understand the nature, scope and extent of corruption within these projects (including the role of African governments and those of the developed world, carbon trading companies and inter-governmental organisations)
- To examine the interplay of cross-cutting issues of sustainable development and environmental mitigation/resolution proposed in these projects
The main output will be a report focusing on case studies of carbon trading projects in Africa. Policy makers, environmental and anti-corruption organisations and other relevant researchers in the field will be engaged in discussion once the report is published. This work will go a long way in investigating, reporting and monitoring carbon trading activities. Moreover, it will assist Africa in influencing regional and international policy and debate on the climate change agenda and in developing a long term African approach to dealing with devastating climate change and its impact on Africa.
Project Head: Trusha Reddy -
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