Africa, which is hardest hit by climate change, is also the continent that has benefited least from the carbon market, said a report on the state of the carbon market released in Nairobi on Thursday.

The study from the World Bank and the International Emissions Trading Association highlighted the trends of the global market for carbon emission reductions.

The report, entitled The State of the Carbon Market 2006: A Focus on Africa, was presented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference underway in Nairobi. It also examines Africa's share of the carbon market and what possibilities exist for market access.

In the first nine months of 2006, the carbon market grew to nearly 22 billion U.S. dollars, more than doubling in value over the almost 11 billion dollars recorded in 2005, according to the report.

"Almost 3 billion dollars of that was from the project-based market. But although Africa doubled its share of the project-based market, that still only represents 5.1 percent of the total," said the report.

It added that despite notable gains over the past year, African projects still represent a low fraction of the entire Clean Development Mechanism pipeline.

"African countries could greatly benefit from the carbon market if the rules of the Kyoto Protocol and other regimes would allow credits from the forestry and agriculture sectors --- these are the most important sectors for African economies and poor people's livelihood," said Karan Capoor of the Africa region of the World Bank and co-author of the report.

The report said that carbon finance provides an opportunity for companies and governments in industrialized countries to meet their greenhouse gas emission reductions commitments through emissions trading, or in exchange for investments that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in transition economies and developing countries.

Source: Xinhua