Climate finance for the African continent got a boost at the 2022 United Nations Climate Conference , with the launch of the African Carbon Markets Initiative. This aims to make climate finance available for African countries, expand access to clean energy, and drive sustainable economic development.
Kenya, Malawi, Gabon, Nigeria and Togo have already indicated their intention to collaborate with the market. However, there is considerable scepticism about whether carbon offset credits do mitigate climate change. A second issue is permanence. Carbon offsets have to be permanent because carbon emissions remain in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. It is almost impossible to guarantee that emissions will be offset for this length of time. But it depends on the type of offset project.In the case of carbon reduction projects, overall emissions remain positive. Examples of carbon reduction credits include investments in renewable energy.