CARBON CREDITS FOR SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA - lumes

aseline calculations procedures and methodologies, issues of additionality, leakageand efficiency in the emissions reductions achieved, as well as risk management areoften named as factors that may restrain participation of market actors aiming toinvest in projects delivering ‘high-quality” ERs. Furthermore, as the current economicdecline has clearly demonstrated, the expensive credits from the projects providingadditional environmental benefits or designed to benefit the living standards ofcommunities in developing countries are the most affected by recession, with theamount of sales of credits plummeting 70% during the first two months of 2009compared with the last two months of 2008, according to the environmental researchfirm New Energy Finance (2009). This indicates the risk of reliance on VERs as asource of sustainable development finance, due to the unstable demand and pricevolatility, as well as the political uncertainties about the future of carbon offsets.21