Africa Carbon Markets Initiative Launched at COP27 to Enhance Participation in Voluntary Carbon Trading

During #COP27 #ClimateChange Conference in November 2022, the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (#ACMI) was officially launched in a bid to elevate the participation of the content in carbon trading, more specifically in the Voluntary Carbon Market. The objective is to unlock financing for Africa’s Sustainable Development Goals (#SDG) and #GreenTransition.

The sponsors for the initiative include Sustainable Energy for All (SE4All), UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet (GEAPP) and the Rockefeller Foundation.

“The current scale of financing available for Africa’s energy transition is nowhere close to what is required. Achieving the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative targets will provide much-needed financing that will be transformative for the continent.”

SE4All CEO Damilola Ogunbiyi

By 2030, the #ACMI ambitions to realize the following KPI:

• Produce 300 million carbon credits annually and at least 1.5 billion by 2050
• Unlock USD 6 billion in value and over USD 120 billion by 2050
• Support 30 million jobs and over 110 million jobs by 2050

The #ACMI will be led by a Steering Committee consisting of 13 members coming from African Head of Governments/State, Industry Captains and Carbon Credit Experts.

In his keynote address, Kenyan President William Ruto stressed the role that Africa can play in the prevention and mitigation of emissions, the protection of crucial ecosystems, and the restoration of precious carbon sinks.

“The African voluntary carbon market will only succeed if people trust that African credits are driving real climate action and having a positive human impact. As the VCM scales in Africa, USAID and ACMI will ensure that it does so with integrity as a core pillar.”

During COP27, the ACMI also released its report entitled “Harnessing Carbon Markets for Africa at the initiative’s COP27 launch event.”

Kenya, Malawi Gabon, Nigeria and Togo took the lead and displayed their commitment to work to make the ACMI a success. These 7 countries have the potential to generate 300 MtCO2e. In 2021, Africa carbon credits totaled only 37 MtCO2e.

Currently, Standard Chartered Bank, Nando’s and the Exchange Trading Group are the major active private sector actors in the Carbon space, but many other corporates have expressed interest in the scheme to allow for a #JustEnergyTransition.

“Sustaining the rapid growth of African carbon markets isn’t going to happen accidently, it’s going to require action by governments, developers, and buyers. Together, we can unlock billions for climate finance and economic development in Africa.”

GEAPP VP Joseph Nganga

In the same breath, former Colombian President Ivan Duque announced the setting up of the Nature Framework Development Group which focuses on Biodiversity. He calls for the creation of Biodiversity credits for the protection of critical ecosystems and the need for integrity and fairness in pricing Carbon Credits.