Africa’s carbon markets must move from readiness to delivery, and the continent should compete on the integrity of its credits rather than on low prices, speakers said at the recent Carbon Markets Africa Summit 2026, in Kigali, Rwanda.

Rwanda Environment Minister Dr Bernadette Arakwiye said Africa’s carbon markets had to be shaped by African priorities and deliver tangible benefits for the continent.

“The question before us is therefore no longer simply whether Africa is ready. It is whether we can deliver at scale, with integrity and with innovation,” she said.

Arakwiye pointed to progress already made as African countries set up carbon market frameworks, grant authorisations, sign bilateral agreements and develop projects. She cautioned, however, that carbon finance remains concentrated in a narrow range of project types, and called for diversification into renewable energy, electric mobility, sustainable waste management, industrial decarbonisation, agriculture and landscape-scale nature-based solutions.

She named three priorities for scaling up, namely methodologies suited to African contexts, finance for project preparation and readiness, and long-term demand at fair value.

“Trust is the currency of this market. To our buyers and investors, I say look closely at these efforts. Reward them with long-term demand, fair prices and patient capital.”

Tanzania’s Minister of State in the Vice President’s Office responsible for Union Affairs and Environment, Hamad Yusuf Masauni, said the continent has an opportunity to reposition itself in global carbon markets.

“For too long, Africa has been spoken about as a continent of potential,” he said, adding that this was now giving way to an era of execution.

Masauni stressed that the focus should be on moving high-quality, bankable projects through to issuance and offtake, rather than on the size of project pipelines alone. “Credibility is built one verified tonne, one closed deal and one community that sees real benefit at a time.”

UNDP Resident Representative in South Africa and Africa Sustainable Finance Hub director Maxwell Gomera called for market infrastructure able to carry value “from the buyer all the way to the farmer”. This, he said, would need to be backed by strong community rights, enforceable benefit-sharing, early-stage finance and partnerships focused on delivery.

Integrity as the Selling Point

UN Climate Change markets and non-markets and stakeholder interaction manager Perumal Arumugam urged Africa to stop asking how it could take part in carbon markets and to consider instead how those markets could advance African priorities.

“Africa should not compete simply by offering the cheapest tonnes. Africa should compete by offering credible and creditable tonnes, a sustainable tonne, and a tonne that the world can trust,” he said.

Success, he added, should be measured not only in credits issued, but also in investment mobilised, mitigation unlocked, value reaching communities, stronger economies and African countries retaining control over their climate transitions.

Speaking on behalf of the African Union Development Agency, Esterine Fotabong said countries needed predictable authorisations, functioning registries and credible monitoring, reporting and verification systems. She also called for more African capacity in validation and verification, and wider access to carbon finance in sectors such as agriculture.

European Commission Directorate-General for Climate Action deputy head of the Task Force for Carbon Pricing and Carbon Markets Lukas Visek signalled future European demand for international carbon credits, but warned that quality requirements would be stringent.

“Additionality and permanence are not negotiable. Quality, however, will be rewarded.” Projects aimed at future international demand will therefore need robust data, genuine additionality, strong community participation and demonstrable alignment with national and global climate goals.

Representatives of the African Development Bank (AfDB), the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) and the Kigali International Financial Centre identified policy certainty, early-stage project preparation, bankable pipelines, sound governance and appropriate risk-sharing as critical to unlocking investment in African projects.

AfDB climate change and green growth director Dr Anthony Nyong said carbon markets should be viewed through the lens of African development. “We don’t have carbon projects. We have development projects.”

DBSA chief investment officer Greg Fyfe high-lighted the catalytic role of development finance institutions in supporting project preparation, providing patient capital and absorbing risks that private investors cannot take on.