A delegation of 12 representatives from Fiji, Vanuatu, Tonga, Samoa, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea participated in the Carbon Expo Australasia 2012 held during 7-9 November 2012 in Melbourne, Australia. The participation of this delegation at the Carbon Expo Australasia 2012 was organised by the UNEP Risø Centre (URC) as part of the regional CDM capacity building activity for Pacific region under the ACP MEA project.
The Pacific delegation at the Carbon Expo conducted a workshop and organized exhibitions in 6 booths. During this workshop, two URC experts and representatives from the 6 Pacific countries presented the activities, results, and findings of the CDM/ACP MEA project in the participating countries and highlighted the need for further support. Over 40 people attended the workshop and raised interesting questions regarding the CDM activities and projects in the Pacific countries. The 6 booths attracted visits from Australian government, CDM investors and buyers.
The 12 representatives from the Pacific countries included members of CDM DNA offices, local CDM consultants, officials from key ministries for GHG mitigation, as well as national banks offering loans for GHG mitigation projects. From URC, Dr. Miriam Hinostroza, Head of the Low Carbon Development Programme and manager of the CDM Component of the ACP MEA project, and Dr. Xianli Zhu, Coordinator of the Pacific region of the CDM component of the ACP MEA project, attended the Carbon Expo and supported countries for their participation.
Under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) component of the ACP MEAs Project a number of GHG emission reduction projects have been identified. Under this project, 24 Project Idea Notes (PINs) for CDM projects, CDM and PoAs, and voluntary carbon market projects eligible for both the regulatory and the voluntary markets, have been developed for the Pacific countries. The Pacific delegation’s participation at this event aimed at promoting these potential GHG emission reduction projects where a number of carbon market stakeholders from Australia and New Zealand were brought together. Both countries, Australia and New Zealand, are in the process of setting up their national carbon emission trading schemes. With the current prices of CERs low on the global carbon market and the EU ETS, which is the traditional buyer for CERs from CDM projects, it is envisaged that the carbon markets in Australia and New Zealand can become major buyers and investors for the CDM projects in the Pacific countries, given the fact that Australia and New Zealand are geographically close to the Pacific countries and are main suppliers of donor funding to the Pacific Island Countries.