The sixth Africa Carbon Forum will take place in Windhoek, Namibia at the start of next month to support Africa’s participation in global carbon markets and catalyse green investment opportunities.

At this year’s forum participants will learn about the current state and future of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), carbon markets, sources of climate finance, international climate change negotiations, and examples of low-carbon development strategies.

“Despite the current lull in the carbon market, steady improvements in the CDM and the possibility of new sources of demand will keep an interested core of stakeholders engaged in the market,” said Hugh Sealy, the chair of the CDM Executive Board. “Now is the time for African nations to look for opportunities in the CDM, in particular via a programmatic approach, which opens the door to a great number of smaller projects.”

Gilbert Mbesherubusa, vice-president of infrastructure, private sector and regional integration at the African Development Bank (AfDB) believes that this year’s forum provides an excellent opportunity to review progress on climate change mitigation in Africa. This would include an assessment of both the challenges and opportunities for mobilising climate finance.

The forum is jointly organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United Nations Environment Programme along with the UNEP Risoe Centre, the World Bank, the African Development Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association.