The Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI) and the Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance (EAA) have formed a partnership aimed at strengthening carbon markets across the region.
The agreement, announced Tuesday, will support East African governments in developing the policies, expertise and infrastructure needed to participate more effectively in carbon markets.
The work will include assistance with national carbon market strategies and the creation and implementation of market authorities.
The partnership will also provide technical support to EAA member countries through VCMI’s Access Strategies program, which works with emerging and developing economies on carbon-market development, climate finance and national policy.
A VCMI policy expert, based in Kampala, Uganda, will maintain regular contact with the alliance to provide on-the-ground support.
Tackling Capacity Gaps In East Africa
The initiative builds on earlier cooperation between the two organizations, including an action plan addressing weaknesses in Africa’s carbon credit verification system.
The plan identified a shortage of Africa-based validation and verification bodies as a major source of delays, which can affect as many as half of projects.
East Africa already represents about 10% of global voluntary market carbon credits. Projects in the region issued nearly 115 million credits between 2022 and 2025, with Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia among the largest contributors.
Relevant: IEA Unveils Fresh $900M Clean Cooking Push For Africa
The partnership comes as the region seeks to capture more of the potential economic value of carbon markets. Demand for high-integrity credits from Europe alone could create a $1 billion opportunity for East Africa by 2030, according to the organizations.
Yet, Africa has so far tapped only about 2% of its estimated carbon credit market capacity, highlighting the scale of the opportunity and the need for stronger local institutions.
Urbans Benywanira, policy associate at VCMI, said: “East Africa is rapidly emerging as one of the most important regions globally for the supply of carbon credits, but the benefits must work both ways.”
Read more: Verra Applies First CORSIA Labels To Voluntary Carbon Credits From Africa
