Given the dismal state of carbon markets currently, it is baffling that there is a push to expand them to the African continent; yesterday the Africa Carbon Forum opened in Addis Ababa and next week there is a two day capacity building workshop in Lilongwe (Malawi) entitled Making carbon markets work for the poor.

Furthermore, as the case studies show in the newly released report, The CDM in Africa Cannot Deliver the Money, Africa's experience with the CDM has been anything but positive. Rather than supporting innovative projects that provide clean energy to those with limited or no access to energy, poor communities are often displaced, exposed to harmful conditions and lose their livelihoods in the name of climate action and sustainable development. Project types highlighted in the report include a landfill, gas capture projects and large hydroelectric dams. Hardly the image that the UNFCCC likes to have the CDM associated with.

Wastepickers protest CDM-funded incinerator in Delhi

The UNFCCC Secretariat along with the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA) organized an event at the European Parliament so that beneficiaries of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) could meet Members of the European Parliament (MEPs). Just who are these beneficiaries?