Representatives from 24 African countries will join participants from 21 other countries at a carbon markets summit in Kigali next week, where policymakers, climate-finance specialists and project developers are expected to discuss Africa’s role in shaping the growing market.
The Carbon Markets Africa Summit, scheduled for Oct. 13-15 at the Kigali Convention Centre, is expected to bring together more than 100 speakers, over 50 investors, buyers and financiers, and more than 40 project developers. Organisers say 20 African governments are expected to participate.
A central issue for the meeting is how African countries can help shape carbon markets while ensuring that the benefits reach the countries and communities hosting climate projects.
Ibrahim Shelleng, senior special assistant to Nigeria’s president on climate finance and stakeholder engagement, said the gathering represented an opportunity for the continent to take greater ownership of the market’s development.
“This gathering of the leading players in African carbon markets represents a continental ownership in driving the future of carbon markets shaped by Africans, for the benefit of Africa,” he said.
Maggie Kinyanjui, sourcing manager for Africa at Climate Impact Partners, said African countries should help determine how the market develops, rather than simply participate in it.
“Africa should not just participate in carbon markets. We should help shape them,” she said, adding that the market needed to attract capital, uphold integrity and ensure that value reaches countries and communities delivering climate impact.
The summit will examine carbon-market opportunities in areas including nature-based solutions, agriculture, waste management, clean cooking and carbon removals. These sectors offer different ways to develop projects intended to reduce or remove greenhouse-gas emissions.
The meeting comes as international rules governing carbon credits continue to develop under the Paris Agreement. Immediately before the Kigali summit, the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body is scheduled to hold its 23rd meeting in Bonn, Germany. The body oversees the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanism, which provides a framework for generating and trading carbon credits under the agreement.
Amy Rhoades, chief communications and engagement officer at Carbon Standards, said the Kigali gathering offered an opportunity to engage with policymakers, entrepreneurs and buyers involved in building Africa’s carbon-removal sector.
The summit is hosted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment, with the United Nations Development Programme and the African Development Bank serving as host organisations. The Development Bank of Southern Africa is a host partner, while the African Union Development Agency-NEPAD is a strategic institutional partner.
The meeting is expected to bring together public officials, financiers, buyers and project developers to discuss how carbon-market activity can develop across the continent.
