The landmark treaty on climate change went into effect on February 16, requiring industrialized countries that have signed on to the protocol to reduce or stabilize their emissions of six "greenhouse" gases, carbon dioxide (CO2) in particular, by 5.2 percent before 2012.

In addition to using cleaner-burning fuels and planting trees, the 34 signatories may trade in carbon emissions, a sector that could be worth as much as 34 billion euros (44 billion dollars) by 2010, according to an analysis by Oslo-based Point Carbon.

Hoping to bring some of that largesse to the southern hemisphere, the drafters of the protocol envisioned the clean development mechanism, or CDM, in which northern industrialized nations offset their own greenhouse gas emissions by promoting investment in clean technologies in the developing world.

Such investments could include the financing of hydropower plants, distributing photovoltaic cells for solar power or promoting energy diversification by developing alternative noncarbon-based or renewable energy sources.

Hoping to head off criticism that CDM would be a well-used loophole for polluters to continue their activities at home while claiming credits for their foreign projects, such schemes must be certified, deemed viable only if their backers can prove they would not exist without such financial assistance.

The problem, according to Doctor Jean Philippe Thomas of the Senegal-based Environmental Development Action in the Third World, is that African emissions are currently so negligible that only the most advanced countries on the continent are likely to benefit.

"You cannot cut emissions in a country that does not have them," he said, noting that of the thousands of tonnes of pollution produced globally each year, Africa, despite being a continent of 800 million people, is responsible for two to three percent.

"The least developed countries are not going to benefit from the technology because their priorities are not mitigation but adaptation to the effects of climate change."

Another stumbling block is that CDM contributions must be kept separate from official development aid, which adds a layer of risk to investment in what are considered the world's least stable countries, said Thomas.

"Nobody is going to risk major sums and invest in expensive new technologies for post-war countries just for the sake of a couple of CO2 credits," he said. "It's easier and cheaper just to buy them."

Instead, said Thomas, the continent as a whole would be better served by investments in long-term urban and transport planning that would ensure sustainable development, minimize pollution and bypass the emissions problems that are plaguing the industrialized world.

"There is a chance in Africa to do things better, to build cities better and minimize their impacts on the planet, pollution included," he said.

"But even in trying to help the continent (with official development aid) we are making the same mistakes that will only contribute to climate change, looking for quick short-term solutions like cleaner-burning fossil fuels instead of long-term solutions like mass transit."

All rights reserved. � 2005 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.