20101113
africanews

Kenya is on the move to launch a climate exchange platform which could earn the country close to $2bn (£1.2bn) a year, for the first time on the African continent. This project will facilitate the trading of carbon credits and help tackle climate change.

Kenya's government estimates that its largest forest, the Mau, has the potential to earn the country close to $2bn (£1.2bn) a year over the next 15 years and expects that the exchange will also enable all African countries to sell their carbon credits.

One carbon credit is equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide, or in some markets, carbon dioxide-equivalent gases.

According to the BBC, officials hope the trade in carbon credits will open up investment in the generation of renewable energy and forestry projects.

The estimated value for the project would need a certification from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Carbon dioxide is one of the main gases causing climate change, scientists say, and such exchanges are one way to offset carbon emissions.

Polluting industries in rich countries pay for clean development projects in poor countries.

Some forecasts warn that Africa will be badly affected by climate change, even though most of the greenhouse gases which cause it are produced in the West and Asia.