Background and contextual issues:
Debate on which way carbon markets for Africa has been ranging on for a while. Flagged as a major dialogue area during the Multi-stakeholder Consultations on the Outcomes of COP29 and the Road map to COP29, a space convened by AUC, UNECA, AfDB and PACJA, the efforts to midwife an approach that is suitable to the continent still remains on. The various technical convenings and the African Carbon Markets Conference in Addis Ababa have all flagged integrity of carbon markets as an issue that require attention, against a backdrop of a continent with constrained capacity for governance of the carbon markets, including its value chains.
Closer to communities, critical concerns relate to whether carbon markets investments, and particularly in our natural assets translates into positive outcomes to our communities. The claims and counter claims of ‘forced’ land use options for communities still linger and so are isolated cases of land claims by carbon investors, infringing on tenure rights of local communities. These have direct implications on communities who solely depend on natural resources for their livelihoods and who are guardians of biodiversity.
At global level, concerns are rife on whether carbon offsets schemes are contributing tangibly in management of emissions. The climate crisis is increasingly alarming, with 2024 likely to be one of the hottest years on record. Greenhouse gas concentrations have surpassed 420 ppm of CO2, driving global warming towards a dangerous 2.7°C increase by end of this century. The first Global Stocktake reaffirms the inadequacies of both climate actions and support. There is need for urgent and enhanced action and support, with developed countries taking lead, to close both the implementation and ambition gaps and prevent severe impacts on lives, ecosystems, and economies especially in Africa and vulnerable regions.
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