African governments are shifting carbon markets from fragmented project systems into state-controlled infrastructure that defines how environmental assets are measured, verified, and monetized.
Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
African governments are increasingly shifting from fragmented carbon projects to state-controlled systems that determine how environmental assets are measured, verified, and monetized.
The shift is redefining carbon markets on the continent, moving them away from project-level participation toward national infrastructure that governs carbon as a regulated economic asset.
According to Alain Ngulungu, a natural resources governance researcher, the ongoing structuring is important because carbon stocks in forests are legally considered state property.
“The carbon stock contained in forests constitutes state property. The state holds exclusive ownership rights over emission reduction units and has the power to approve projects,” he explains.
At the center of this transition is the emergence of registries, pricing mechanisms, and legal frameworks that position governments as the primary authorities over carbon value creation and distribution.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, authorities last month named Lumiere as the country’s national carbon registry, a platform designed to govern and account for carbon and environmental assets across the national territory.
The announcement, made ahead of the 8th Global Environment Facility Assembly in Uzbekistan, taking place from May 30 to June 6, 2026, marks the transition of the system from design into implementation and signals a move toward sovereign control of carbon governance infrastructure.
The platform is being developed by the Ministry of Environment, Sustainable Development, and the New Climate Economy in partnership with a local technology firm, Lumiere Credit Carbon Platform SAS.
Officials say the system will function as a national treasury of verified environmental assets, allowing forests, ecosystems, and carbon stocks to be registered, tracked, and valued within a government-controlled framework.
The first deployment area covers around 15% of the country, an expanse comparable to France and located within the Congo Basin, one of the world’s largest carbon sinks.
The registry is designed to align with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and the aviation sector’s CORSIA framework, both of which are becoming central to international carbon market credibility.
“This is how the Congolese people take ownership of the value of their own natural heritage,” according to Environment Minister Marie Nyange Ndambo.
The emphasis on verifiable systems reflects a wider shift across Africa, where governments are moving to centralize emissions data, credit issuance, and transaction tracking within formal public institutions.
Olentiki Ole, founder of Globaltec Finance & Investment Solutions, explains that verifiable systems are important because “the goal is not carbon export alone. The goal is carbon export with value retention.”
Africa currently hosts more than 100 carbon credit projects across at least 20 countries, focused largely on renewable energy, forestry, clean cooking, and energy efficiency.
However, estimates from the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market suggest that Africa is currently using only around 2% of its nature-based carbon credit potential, highlighting a large gap between existing projects and scalable national systems.
The Council further estimates that a mature African carbon market could generate up to US$6 billion annually and create approximately 30 million jobs, depending on regulatory coherence and institutional capacity.
According to the World Bank’s State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2026 report, global carbon pricing revenues exceeded US$107 billion in 2025, while direct carbon pricing instruments now cover nearly 30 percent of global emissions.
The report also shows that 87 carbon pricing policies are now in operation worldwide, reflecting the growing institutionalization of carbon governance across economies.
Across Africa, governments are responding by building frameworks that move beyond project-based participation.
In Guinea, authorities are developing what could become the continent’s first sector-based carbon pricing instrument, initially targeting the bauxite and iron ore industries, which are central to the country’s export economy.
The proposed mechanism introduces emissions-intensity targets directly into industrial policy, meaning carbon pricing applies only when emissions exceed defined thresholds per unit of output.
Guinea is the world’s second-largest exporter of bauxite after Australia and is also developing what may become one of the largest iron ore mining operations in the region.
Under the framework, companies will be required to report emissions, with compliance obligations triggered when performance exceeds sectoral benchmarks.
The system is being designed by the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development and includes plans to channel revenues into a dedicated mitigation fund to support decarbonization and climate-related investments.
A carbon unit within the government is also being established to oversee implementation, alongside new reporting and verification systems for mining operators.
Prime Minister Amadou Oury Bah has in the past described the initiative as part of Guinea’s broader participation in global carbon pricing systems and its alignment with international climate commitments.
In East Africa, Ethiopia is advancing a different but complementary model that embeds carbon governance into law.
The Council of Ministers has approved a draft national carbon market framework that establishes the legal basis for carbon trading, including rules on credit generation, revenue distribution, project participation, and community safeguards.
The framework is designed to enable Ethiopia’s integration into Article 6 mechanisms under the Paris Agreement, which govern international carbon transfers and accounting integrity.
According to the Global Green Growth Institute, the framework builds on nationwide consultations involving government institutions, regional authorities and development partners.
The draft also formalizes the use of corresponding adjustments, a technical requirement under Article 6 that prevents double-counting of carbon credits when transferred between countries.
This mechanism is increasingly important for participation in compliance-grade systems such as CORSIA, which governs emissions offsets in international aviation.
Ethiopia has already engaged in Article 6 discussions with countries including Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Norway, the United Kingdom, and Sweden, positioning itself for early participation in bilateral carbon trading arrangements.
Officials have also indicated that Ethiopia is preparing a national carbon credit registry and monitoring system, with reports suggesting development is underway in partnership with the Ethiopian Artificial Intelligence Institute.
In Liberia, the government has already moved to formalize carbon governance through executive action.
President Joseph Boakai established the Carbon Markets Authority under Executive Order No. 155 in October 2025, creating a central institution responsible for climate finance and carbon market regulation.
The authority oversees policy formulation, market participation, and compliance with international frameworks, including the Paris Agreement.
The executive order also established a National Carbon Registry and a Liberian Carbon Investment Fund, intended to manage revenues from carbon market activities and reinvest them into climate resilience and development programs.
“This executive order reflects our government’s determination to protect our environment, empower our communities, and unlock the full economic potential of our natural resources through responsible and transparent climate governance,” President Boakai said at the time.
For much of the past two decades, carbon markets in Africa were largely shaped by individual projects led by private firms, conservation organizations, and donor-funded programs, with limited national control over data systems.
“We are not asking the world to take our climate ambition on trust. We are building the systems that make it verifiable,” according to the DRC’s environment minister, Ndambo.
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Useful links for editors:https://natlawreview.com/press-releases/drc-names-lumiere-its-sovereign-carbon-registry-full-unveiling-set-gef, https://www.qcintel.com/carbon/article/ethiopia-backs-draft-framework-on-carbon-markets-65705.html,https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/press-release/2026/05/19/direct-carbon-pricing-covers-nearly-one-third-of-global-emissions
