The Government of Belize led by the Ministry of Forestry, Fisheries and Sustainable Development in collaboration with BELTRAIDE will be participating in Carbon Expo 2012, which will take place in Cologne, Germany from the 30th May to 1st June. The Carbon Expo 2012 is a leading international trade fair and knowledge sharing platform for carbon investments, and clean technologies. This event will bring together project developers, service providers, buyers and sellers of carbon credits, and other public and private stakeholders.
The Carbon Expo presents Belize with an opportunity to showcase Belize as an attractive destination for Clean Development Mechanisms (CDM) projects and the voluntary carbon market. In addition to showcasing Belize, Carbon Expo 2012 provides the country with the opportunity to attract carbon finance to develop climate-friendly projects and to encourage the transfer of cutting edge technologies and know-how.
To date the Caribbean accounts for less than 1 percent of the more than 4,000 CDM projects registered in more than 70 countries. CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reductions (CERs), each equivalent to one ton of CO2. CERs can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol. These Projects must meet the sustainable development objectives of the host country such as Belize.
Belize has huge potential for carbon market projects that provide sustainable development benefits. These projects range from renewable energy, to solid waste landfill recovery, to reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.
Belize’s participation is made possible under a Clean Development Mechanism Capacity Building Programme which falls under the umbrella of a UNEP- European Union cooperation activity on “Capacity Building related to Multilateral Environment Agreements in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries”.
The Guardian 
AmbergrisCaye.com 
