CLIMATE CHANGE:Carbon offsetting measures are being used to help countries most affected by climate change but least responsible for causing it

AFRICANS ARE among the people least responsible for climate change.

But they are the most affected as changing weather patterns affect the continent's small-scale farming families and poor rural populations far more negatively than people in the developed world.

A new Irish venture, Hestian Innovation, based in Malawi aims to reduce the affects of this humanitarian crisis-in-waiting through the roll out of development programmes that can verifiably reduce greenhouse gas emissions, which experts agree are responsible for global warming.

The idea is to use money made from the sale of carbon credits, which are earned from curbing the effects of climate change through mechanisms established under the 1997 Kyoto Protocol, to cover the cost of improving the lives and health of vulnerable communities.

Sounds like a tall order? Well, Malawi-based Conor Fox, one of two Irishmen behind the venture, is betting it is not only feasible, but also more cost effective than the long-standing development approaches currently used and more desirable to potential supporters.

"We believe what we are trying to do will work well, although it might take a few years to see large scale results. This methodology is different to the traditional approach to development aid as it is output rather than input orientated," he says.

This means that finance, channelled via the carbon credit system, is secured on the back of verifiable results of carbon emission reductions rather than being provided before any positive results have been achieved.

There has been a lot of criticism of the traditional input donor system because it is often weighted in the donor's favour, through the attachment of conditions and it can be susceptible to mismanagement in recipient countries.

"Even with the best intentions the input approach undermines local flexibility, dynamism and ingenuity, not to mention leaving finance open to re-direction as it makes its way to programmes in the field," says Fox.

The development programme's ability to reduce carbon emissions can be measured by Gold Standard, a Switzerland-based non-profit organisation established in 2006 that guarantees its environmental and development integrity after scrutinising test results.

Every tonne of CO2 stopped from entering the earth's atmosphere under the Gold Standard's measurement system earns the project responsible one credit.

This can then be sold to countries and companies that overproduce CO2 to offset fines they face under Kyoto. Or it can be sold to individuals and organisations that voluntarily choose to offset their negative impact.

"Unless we can scientifically prove our programmes reduce emissions into the atmosphere and are of benefit to the host country in terms of sustainable development, we cannot earn the carbon credits we need to fund the programmes' large scale roll out," explains Fox. "If we have the credits to sell then you know we are reducing emissions through our development programmes."

Under Kyoto, provisions exist to allow industrial countries to meet part of their treaty obligations by financing projects in developing countries that achieve reductions in greenhouse gas emissions.

Many countries, including Ireland, are already over the emissions levels under the treaty because of the country's heavy reliance on fossil fuels.

Ireland's greenhouse gas emissions must be kept in the region of 63 million tonnes per year between 2008 and 2012, but our current emission levels already stand close to 70 million tonnes.

In addition to pro-actively reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a way to reduce this figure and meet targets in the short term is to purchase carbon credits from other countries or companies who have made greenhouse gas reductions through verifiable programmes.

"Almost every country in Africa is signed up to Kyoto. We decided to set up our operation in Malawi last February because it is one of the continent's least developed countries and one of the most vulnerable to climate change. At the same time it is also least responsible in causing the problem," says Fox.

Travelling across Malawi, what is striking about the landcape is its lack of trees. Since humans first inhabited the country the primary source of fuel has been wood and deforestation is occurring at a rate of 2.8 per cent per year.

Reducing the amount of wood burned by Malawians will not only reduce the levels of CO2 entering the atmosphere; as 93 per cent of the country's energy comes from wood, it will also help stop soil erosion, river siltation, seasonal drying-up of streams and flash floods caused by deforestation.

To date, Fox and his UK-based partner John O'Connor have launched two fledging programmes aimed at reducing wood consumption.

The first involves the country's largest export business - tobacco farming - and focuses on improving the technology used to flue-cure tobacco leaves by smallholder farmers in barns that use wood fire furnaces to heat the air.

Based on pilot work carried out over the past three years by biomass energy consultant Peter Scott - who has developed an affordable and efficient wood burning furnace - the latest test design has reduced the amount of wood needed to cure a kilo of tobacco from a ratio of 15:1 to 2.5:1.

"Even now, farmers using one of our older model furnaces burn 50 per cent less wood than the traditional method of curing, and the quality of their tobacco is better. So they spend less money on wood and get a better price for their tobacco," says Scott.

To work out how significant an impact an emissions reduction programme is having, tests are carried out to measure how much CO2 is released into the atmosphere using the old method compared to the new.

According to Scott, if he can get 5,000 of his "Rocket Barn" curing systems up and running, it will reduce the amount of carbon emissions entering the atmosphere each year by around 100,000 tonnes.

"The potential for large-scale reductions is huge as tobacco is grown throughout the region by large and small-scale tobacco farmers. We can have a very positive effect," says Fox.

The second project involves the mass production of improved ceramic stoves for cooking. Approximately 82 per cent of wood consumption in Malawi is for household cooking and heating over traditional open fires, because 97 per cent of the 12 million population have no electricity at home.

Here Fox's own company Clioma hopes to build on the initial work carried out by Irish NGO CaraMalawi, which has helped local women from Kaphuka village - 65km south of the capital Lilongwe - make their own ceramic stoves.

"We feel there is also great potential here, as the improved ceramic stove design is made from local materials using local skills, that reduces wood consumption by about 50 per cent and reduces exposure of women and children to indoor air pollution," he says.

Any interventions Fox and O'Connor roll out that are related to climate change have to complement the government's National Adaptation Programme of Action (Napa), a programme that prioritises actions that increase Malawi's resilience in the face of a changing climate. Those who roll out interventions have to secure a letter of support from the Department of Environmental Affairs, which is the national focal point for Kyoto's clean development mechanism and the Napa.

"One of the really important things we need to do is to build a relationship of trust with the government," concludes Fox, "and particularly the Department of Environmental Affairs, if this is to become successful.

"As this is a relatively new concept it requires great sensitivity to everyone involved. You have to think on your feet, as problems one would not normally face in the northern hemisphere arise on a daily basis."