Background and Objective
To date, Africa and especially Africa’s least developed countries (LDCs) have seen only marginal representation in the global carbon market. Uganda is a notable exception – with over 25 programmes and project activities conducted under the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), it is one of the most successful CDM host countries in East Africa. Building on that success, Uganda and other East African countries aim to become even more actively involved in Article 6 activities under the Paris Agreement. The Global Carbon Market project supports countries in the region, both in preparing and using market-based instruments and in accessing climate finance to implement their nationally determined contributions (NDCs).
Implementation
Capacity-building in relation to carbon markets and particularly the Paris Agreement’s Article 6 is an important part of the project. Also under the project, policy-makers are sensitised to market mechanisms and training is developed and implemented for delegates of the African negotiation group involved in the climate change negotiations. Strong private sector participation in the global carbon markets is also promoted by identifying and developing project ideas. For example, carbon market instruments such as standardised baselines are developed for use in calculating emission reductions and to enable monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) of climate action projects. Regional dialogue is also promoted and workshops are held to aid drafting of the conditions needed to enable the African private sector to participate in the global carbon market. And last but not least, the Global Carbon Market project supports the establishment and operationalisation of the Eastern African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance in matters concerning climate finance and carbon pricing.
Milestones and Outlook
As part of the project, private-sector negotiators and representatives from the wider East African region received training on the carbon markets and on Article 6.
The project team also assisted countries in the region in establishing the Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance with the aim of intensifying both regional cooperation and willingness to use new market mechanisms. As the project activities are not limited to market mechanisms, under the NDC partnership the project team also supports the Ugandan government in the development of a long-term climate strategy for 2050 and the NDC review and update process.