In the market

The AfDB is taking steps to bolster the continent’s opportunities to raise climate financing.

The development bank announced at the end of May, that it has formally joined the African Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI).

Launched in 2022 at COP27, the ACMI aims to harness high-integrity carbon markets to scale up the continent’s response to climate change.

Through the initiative, global companies can invest in carbon credits to offset their own carbon emissions while strengthening the continent’s climate programmes.

Announcing the AfDB’s move at a roundtable discussion during the bank’s 2024 Annual Meetings in Nairobi, Kenya, Kevin Kariuki, vice-president for power, energy, climate and green growth, highlighted the potential of raising climate finance through carbon markets and urged countries to trade carbon credits under the Paris Agreement’s compliance markets, which attracted significantly higher prices for carbon emissions than voluntary markets.

Sharing his country’s experience, Ghana’s deputy finance minister, Alexander Ampaabeng, emphasised that countries needed to invest in technology to enhance transparency in carbon trading.

‘Through digital monitoring, reporting, and verification, Africa will attract better carbon pricing,’ he said.