Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance

Background and Objective

Several countries in East Africa refer to the utilization of market mechanisms to facilitate the implementation of their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). Having registered a significant number of CDM activities with high sustainable development impacts, many East African countries are keen to build on this experience for accessing Article 6. This includes working towards a smooth transition of selected CDM projects that meet Article 6 requirements by allowing Parties to achieve a higher mitigation ambition. In acknowledgement of the opportunities that Article 6 entails and the interrelated socio-economic impacts that climate change poses on the region, East African countries view sub-regional cooperation as a potential way for leveraging each other’s strengths on carbon market approaches and climate finance.
 

Implementation

With the support of  the BMWK activity Global Carbon Market in East Africa and in cooperation with the UNFCCC Regional Collaboration Center Kampala, Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda established the East African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance.

The Alliance was officially launched in June 2019. The National Focal Points, who are appointed by the member countries of the Alliance, endorsed the formal establishment of the Alliance and encouraged other countries in the extended region to seek membership. They further highlighted the importance of a common East African vision with regards to carbon markets and Article 6 as well as climate finance. This is also echoed in the specific objectives of the East African Alliance, which are:

• Promoting a common vision on carbon markets and climate finance in the region;
• Fostering an active and better coordinated participation of delegates from the region in the UNFCCC negotiations on market mechanisms and climate finance as well as other international fora;
• Supporting readiness to implement Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Inspired by the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, the secretariat of the Alliance will be anchored in a local or regional institution within East Africa to provide stability and continuity. The secretariat will comprise a dedicated technical advisor in charge of coordination of its activities. During the transition period of identifying a suitable secretariat, UNFCCC RCC Kampala and GIZ Uganda are serving this role in close coordination with member countries.
 

Milestones and Outlook

Through its established network of Alliance National Focal Points, the Alliance has identified several activities aimed at supporting the member states, such as:

• The calculation of the standardized baseline for the Grid Emission Factor (GEF) for the Republic of Kenya;
• A planned training for East African negotiators on market mechanisms and Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which aims at preparing delegates for the climate change negotiations at COP25 in Chile;
• A regional private sector dialogue, which aims to increase the knowledge base on carbon markets in the transition from the CDM to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement amongst the private sector.

The alliance currently comprises 6 member states: Burundi, Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda.