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The PACE Centre was originally a project managed by Parallax. PACE is now an independent, not-for-profit organisation with it's own website. Please go to the new PACE website for the latest news from The PACE Centre.
The establishment of the PACE Centre in South Africa is the first step in forming a global network of centres that aim to support the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Following the World Summit for Sustainable Development (WSSD) in Johannesburg in 2002, the UK Government recognised that small-scale CDM projects offer an ideal opportunity to fulfil environmental and development goals. In 2004, ahead of the UK's Presidency of the European Union with a focus on Africa and climate change, the UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (UKFCO) funded an initiative to facilitate this process as part of its Global Opportunities Fund. UKFCO commissioned EcoSecurities and Ecofys to undertake pilot projects in South Africa and India to demonstrate the value of national centres for small-scale CDM projects focused on renewable energy and energy efficiency.
Parallax, in partnership with its associate Anton Cartwright, was selected as the local partner for South Africa and given the task of establishing the PACE Centre. This process must be driven by local stakeholders, with extensive local consultation, to establish the needs that might be addressed by PACE. EcoSecurities is an internationally well-recognised consultancy firm active in climate change, renewable energy and energy efficiency, and so is able to offer useful support to Parallax with the provision of international expertise that may be adapted to the needs identified in South Africa. With this resource, and funding from UKFCO, Parallax is now engaged in establishing the PACE Centre for South Africa.
The process required to establish the PACE Centre was set out in broad terms of reference for UKFCO. Some of the key features of PACE are as follows:
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For more background to the aims and activities of PACE, please see our introduction to PACE.
In May 2005, workshops were held in Midrand (17 May), Cape Town (18 May) and Durban (19 May) for direct consultation with stakeholders. Invites were sent to selected organisations that may benefit from the Clean Development Mechanism in identified target areas. These workshops were intended to provide information about CDM options for small-scale project developers, Government officials, and potential investors. Participants also helped determine how best to position the national PACE Centre to provide the necessary support for such renewable energy and energy efficiency projects. This input from stakeholders will help to decide how the PACE Centre will operate in the future, meeting the identified needs.
Only a small number of people were invited to attend each of these workshops to ensure that the discussions were focussed on the practical implementation of small-scale CDM projects, enabling PACE to determine how best to offer appropriate support. The involvement of participants with energy efficiency and/or renewable energy work meant that they were in a strong position to benefit from the support that may be offered by CDM. The workshops provided an opportunity for stakeholders to hear about and debate the prospects for financing clean energy projects from the Clean Development Mechanism. The aim of the workshops was to determine how to access this financing and how the newly-formed national PACE Centre can support the attempts of participants to develop and validate small-scale CDM projects.
For details of the participants and presentations at these workshops, please see the workshop agenda.