COP-15

           In the side event “Co-Benefits of climate change and sustainable development in developing countries” hosted by Japan, I learned a bit about the steps the Japanese government have and are still undergoing to assist developing countries in combating climate change. While most of the presentation put me to sleep because there was a lot of math and technical talk (which I was not expecting), and some difficulty understanding with their accents, but I did pull a few usual points.

            First, the Japanese government has gone ahead of the COP in implementing CDM (clean development mechanisms) in developing countries. They have supported these countries will massive financial and technical support. Actions like this are ones I hope to see other rich countries contributing to very soon.

            The part I enjoyed the most was the input from a representative from Uganda, where the Japanese have a program with CDM. He and his country are very thankful to the Japanese for the help they are providing because they are giving the developing world socio-economical benefits through CDM.

           He made a very important point during his time speaking, saying that the least developed countries have weak private sectors, and implementing the mechanism in public sectors (such an electricity and water) is where the opportunity lies for high levels of socio-economic benefits in his country and others in similar states.

            Without actions similar to Japans it will be very difficult for the least developed countries to participate with CDM since they require very intensive and knowledgeable actions, and it is simply not possible for the least developed countries to have the same number of CDM as developed countries since they cannot access the opportunity alone.