Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt 08th November, 2022 (AEJ) – Malawi President Lazarus Chakwera, currently attending the United Nations Conference of Parties (COP) underway in the tourist resort city of Sharma El Sheik in Egypt today told delegates that five million carbon credits Malawi will produce has potential to rake in US$ 100 million and support close to 250,000 people as part of a nationwide job creation drive.
Chakwera was speaking during the launch of the Africa Carbon Market Initiative (ACMI) which has been inaugurated at what is now dubbed the ‘African COP.’ ACMI aims to support the growth of carbon credit production and create more jobs on the African continent.
A carbon credit is a kind of permit that represents 1 ton of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere. They can be purchased by an individual or, more commonly, a company to make up for carbon dioxide emissions that come from industrial production, delivery vehicles or travel that end up in the earth’s atmosphere.
Multiple African nations namely Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Nigeria and Togo joined ACMI launch event to announce their commitment to scaling voluntary carbon markets.
"We want to expand these projects. We plan to expand these projects. We are ready to unlock opportunities in clean cookstoves and waste management solutions." explained Chakwera during the launch of the continental clean initiative.
The ACMI seeks to scale carbon credit production across the African continent and impact millions of lives. It is one of the mechanism being used to encourage the private sector to take part in reducing carbon emissions as part of green and cleaner initiatives.
Presently, there are several gaps in legislation, guidelines and implementation procedures. In some cases middlemen and facilitating institutions have benefited more than local producers at country level. Some of the carbon trading arrangements captured under article 6 of the Paris Agreement have not been resolved by countries for years.
Last year about 600 thousand tonnes of carbon credits were produced following the introduction of various projects in the sector of agriculture and energy in Malawi which have helped to restore the ecosystem since 2015.
As we went to press, AEJ was still checking with authorities to explain the total value of the 600 thousand tonnes of carbon credits traded last year and the current trading arrangements Malawi is following.
