Voluntary carbon market, domestic and international compliance markets are vital to scaling African carbon markets; Verra says it will need continued collaboration with national governments, and scaling number of verification bodies able to audit projects

Verra staff recently attended Africa Climate Week (ACW), organized by the UNFCCC Secretariat, and the Africa Climate Summit (ACS), convened by the Kenyan government, in Nairobi, Kenya. Both events brought together policymakers, practitioners, businesses, and civil society to discuss climate solutions, including their challenges and strategies for addressing these challenges, in different African regions.

Verra staff in attendance were Julie Aguko, Senior Program Officer, Energy Innovation; Bathandwa Isaac, Program Associate; Heather McEwan, Senior Manager of Africa and the Middle East; and Angelo Sartori, Director, Regional Engagement. They participated in a number of side events and bilateral meetings. Here is a summary of key takeaways from those events:

• The voluntary carbon market, along with domestic and international compliance markets, will be a vital part of scaling the African carbon markets. To help all of these markets reach their full potential, the following is needed:
  • Continued collaboration with national governments to build their capacity to design and implement carbon pricing initiatives, both at the national and international level
  • Scaling the number of validation/verification bodies (VVBs) able to audit local projects. This includes making VVB training more accessible to local Project Proponents, providing more language options, and incorporating cultural traditions.
• Verra can also support African countries in preparing to conduct transactions under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. This will enable African countries to use finance flows from international carbon markets to meet their Nationally Determined Contributions.

To continue these conversations, Heather McEwan and Angelo Sartori are traveling to Uganda and Tanzania after the ACS and ACW to engage with governments and local agencies. Their main objective is to formalize agreements for capacity building, understand the developing local and domestic regulations related to carbon markets, and explain the recent updates to the Verified Carbon Standard Program.