News Release: First ever cook stove PoA in Africa registered with the CDM

(Bonn, 20 February 2012) - The first Africa-based Programme of Activities (PoA) focusing on efficient cook stoves has been successfully registered with the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). This programme, the fifth PoA to be registered in Africa, aims to disseminate 100,000 cook stoves in Nigeria within the next five years. It expects to reduce emissions by as much as 250,000 tonnes of CO2 annually; the equivalent of taking 44,470 cars off the road each year. The use of unsustainably harvested wood to fuel inefficient cook stoves is one of the main drivers of deforestation in Nigeria. Stoves distributed in this CDM PoA reduce fuel wood usage by up to 80 percent according to the PoA design document. Other benefits of the project include improved respiratory health, decreased fuel costs for households and increased time for income generating activities. “With almost 4,000 projects registered in more than 70 countries, the CDM has been a success beyond expectations,” said Martin Hession, Chair of the CDM Executive Board. “Programmes of Activities can help extend the benefits of the CDM even further, especially to those countries that have yet to benefit from the mechanism.” Once a PoA is registered, an unlimited number of similar projects can be added and administered over time without the need to register each one individually. The ability to group a number of smaller activities under the umbrella of a single programme, reduces transaction costs and makes the CDM more attractive to least developed countries (LDCs). For most LDCs, especially in Africa, single CDM projects are often too small to be financially viable. Since the PoA procedures were adopted by the CDM Executive Board, 16 have been registered. More than 230 projects are currently in the PoA pipeline. For more information on CDM PoA 5067: Improved Cooking Stoves for Nigeria Programme of Activities, visit: <http://cdm.unfccc.int/ProgrammeOfActivities/poa_db/7R1B09HSJV3FKIZYCA4D6XQOETP5GN/view> For more information on CDM PoAs in general, visit: <http://cdm.unfccc.int/ProgrammeOfActivities/index.html> For further information please contact: David Abbass, Public Information Officer, UNFCCC at: CDM-Press@unfccc.int, +49 (0) 228-815-1511