AFRICA LAUNCHES CARBON SUPPORT FACILITY TO TAKE LEAD IN GLOBAL CLIMATE FINANCE

The facility is part of a broader effort to scale up Africa’s participation in voluntary and compliance carbon markets by addressing key investment barriers.

Africa African's participation in carbon market Climate finance Investment.

Africa unveils the Africa Carbon Support Facility (ACSF)

Africa has launched a bold initiative to establish itself as a global leader in the carbon market, with the unveiling of the Africa Carbon Support Facility (ACSF) at a high-level dialogue hosted by the African Development Bank Group during its 2025 Annual Meetings.

The ACSF aims to mobilize billions of dollars in climate finance while ensuring that the economic benefits of carbon trading reach local communities across the continent. The facility is part of a broader effort to scale up Africa’s participation in voluntary and compliance carbon markets by addressing key investment barriers.

“This is a space where ideas meet action, principles meet policy, and financing meets Africa’s future,” said Dr. Kevin Kariuki, Vice President for Power, Energy, Climate, and Green Growth at the African Development Bank. He described the ACSF as a catalytic mechanism designed to support high-integrity carbon markets.

Aligned with the African Union’s Carbon Market Strategy, the ACSF will operate through five strategic pillars: de-risking carbon credit supply, stimulating demand, building market infrastructure, strengthening policy ecosystems, and crowding in private capital.

“The goal is to unlock billions in climate finance while ensuring benefits are felt by African communities,” Kariuki added.

The dialogue emphasized Africa’s strategic urgency in advancing carbon markets not only for financing purposes but also to reduce the region’s vulnerability to climate change. Ibrahima Cheikh Diong, Executive Director of the Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage, highlighted the real-world consequences of inaction.

“When global emissions are reduced, there is less loss and damage. In Madagascar and elsewhere, disasters give climate change a human face,” Diong said, stressing the need for institutional collaboration.

Paul Muthaura, CEO of the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative, noted that strong partnerships and scalable investment models will be critical to delivering results.

A panel moderated by African Development Bank Vice President Solomon Quaynor brought together key players from institutions such as the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), ARM-Harith, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), and the Children’s Investment Fund Foundation.

Panelists identified clear regulatory frameworks, smarter risk-sharing tools, and strengthened local capital markets as essential for scaling carbon investment across the continent.

Dr. Hanan Morsy, Chief Economist at UNECA, underscored the importance of building trust in African carbon credits through data integrity.

“Development partners need to collaborate to ensure the data needed for verifiable, investible, and trustworthy carbon credits is available and reliable,” she said. “Income streams should also trickle down to communities.”

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AFRICA LAUNCHES CARBON SUPPORT FACILITY TO TAKE LEAD IN GLOBAL CLIMATE FINANCE

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