A proposed register could soon enable SMMEs in Southern Africa to trade voluntary carbon credits.

This is through an initiative by Seed10X to establish the region’s first carbon register, which – as reported by Engineering News – will provide Southern African SMMEs with access to rewards for cutting their carbon footprint.

The primary aim of a carbon credit is to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases. It’s a permit that allows a company to emit a specified amount of CO₂ or other greenhouse gases and, as an incentive to reduce emissions, that company can sell unneeded credits to another entity, typically large emitters of carbon such as state-owned utilities and large corporates.

‘The [carbon register] will unlock a new, exciting and alternative form of funding for SMMEs to assist them to build and scale their businesses,’ according to Seed10X senior VP Marc Tison, who adds that it will provide an opportunity to aggregate ‘the achievements of a cluster of SMMEs to give them the combined critical mass to enter – and to directly financially benefit from – the carbon trading environment’.

16 November 2021
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