Rwanda will host a major African carbon markets summit in October as governments, investors and project developers seek ways to turn growing interest in carbon trading into more climate finance for the continent.
The Carbon Markets Africa Summit will take place in Kigali from Oct. 13-15, bringing together policymakers, investors, carbon project developers and corporate buyers to discuss how African countries can attract investment while maintaining confidence in the quality of carbon credits.
The meeting comes as countries across Africa move to establish policies and systems for participating in international carbon markets under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The African Union is implementing its Action Plan on Carbon Markets, while countries including Ghana are developing project pipelines and authorization systems.
The summit will be hosted by Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment, with the United Nations Development Programme and African Development Bank serving as host organizations. The Development Bank of Southern Africa will be a host partner, while AUDA-NEPAD will serve as a strategic institutional partner.
Organizers said the discussions will focus on issues that could determine whether Africa’s carbon markets can attract investment at scale, including project verification, monitoring and reporting, policy certainty and access to finance.
Participants will also examine how Article 6 and the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation, known as CORSIA, can move from policy frameworks to actual transactions.
More than 10 African governments and more than 20 investors and financiers are expected to participate, alongside standards organizations, ratings agencies and carbon project developers.
The three-day meeting will include investor and buyer roundtables, project presentations, technical workshops and deal rooms aimed at connecting projects with potential financiers and buyers.
A nature-focused deal room hosted by the U.N. Environment Programme will also bring together governments, investors, corporate buyers and market intermediaries to explore nature-based carbon projects.
The push comes as African countries seek to ensure that carbon markets generate broader economic benefits rather than simply becoming a source of carbon credits for international buyers.
“Carbon markets” can generate financing for national development priorities, jobs and resilient livelihoods when they are properly structured, said Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, UNDP Rwanda resident representative.
“The task before us in Kigali is to build markets that are credible, investable, and designed to deliver real value for African countries and communities,” she said.
Shikha Sharma, global technical lead for offsets and removals at SGS, said Africa’s natural resources could give the continent a significant role in shaping the global carbon market if countries strengthen governance and local expertise.
The summit is expected to place particular emphasis on market integrity, as investors and buyers increasingly seek assurance that carbon projects deliver the emissions reductions or removals they claim.
The Kigali meeting will therefore focus on connecting African projects with investors and buyers, while addressing some of the rules and verification requirements that have slowed the growth of the market.
