# Africa Rising – The Carbon Markets Africa Summit, 2026

*Published:* 2026-10-16
*Author:* Roselyn Adjei

Meeting the world’s collective climate targets demands significant finance. Countries have set out their climate ambitions in their Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), but turning these into full scale action requires investment that is available, accessible and suited to their needs. For Africa, initiatives that can reduce emissions, protect ecosystems, and support livelihoods have not been well-financed. That needs to change.

The scale of the financing challenge is clear. Drawing on the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance’s assessment, the [COP29 finance decision](https://unfccc.int/cop29/auvs) in Baku, Azerbaijan, recognised that developing countries’ costed needs in their NDCs amounted to between US$5.1 trillion and US$6.8 trillion through 2030. This is an estimate of needs, rather than the financing gap itself, but it shows the scale of investment required and the urgency of closing the gap between ambition and available finance.

This finance can be delivered through several instruments, including debt for nature swaps, sovereign green bonds and first loss capital that helps reduce risks for other investors. Critically, carbon markets are tipped to also play a key role, through compliance mechanisms under the Paris Agreement Crediting Mechanisms and Voluntary markets.

Many countries have included both conditional and unconditional targets in their NDCs. The unconditional targets reflect commitments countries intend to deliver with their own resources albeit not always budgeted, while conditional targets depend on external support. In that space, Carbon markets offer a way to on-board private finance, including through blended financing arrangements, to support national commitments and further climate action, while delivering a path to net-zero for industry.

Countries in Africa are no exception. Although the continent has contributed relatively little to the greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change, it faces harsh changing climatic impacts. Droughts, flooding, and changing rainfall patterns are affecting agriculture, nature, energy, industry and ultimately people. These impacts are already placing pressure on livelihoods and national development.

Yet African countries have demonstrated commitment and action in developing carbon markets. Kenya has a long history of carbon market participation and has strengthened its legal framework to support investment. Ghana’s Article 6 pathway includes cooperation with a number of Countries and a pipeline spanning clean cooking, sustainable rice cultivation, waste management and electric mobility. Senegal have also authorized a programme supporting the transition to electric vehicles. These examples show that African countries are building practical pathways for climate finance and are supported through Cooperative Approaches with Switzerland, Singapore, Sweden and others, allowing them to engage in the carbon market to meet their climate goals.

The Carbon Markets Africa Summit offers a space to bring these efforts together with Africa in focus. Created by the VUKA Group, the maiden summit was in Johannesburg in 2025, bringing governments, investors, project developers and other partners into discussions on Africa’s carbon market opportunities. Although still young, it is creating an important platform to showcase initiatives, connect projects with finance and support the growth of viable investments.

> Africa is rising to the occasion by building a stronger space for advancing carbon markets that deliver benefits within a transparent regulatory framework.

This year’s summit was held from 13th to 15th October in Kigali, Rwanda, under the auspices of Rwanda’s Ministry of Environment, with the United Nations Development Programme and African Development Bank serving as host organisations. Opening the Conference, Dr. Bernadette Arakwiye, Minister for Environment of the Republic of Rwanda, mentioned three key priorities needed for Carbon Markets to work for Africa:

1. Accessible Methodologies
2. Project Preparation and Readiness Finance and
3. Long term demand at fair value

The three days featured high level discussions, investor and buyer roundtables, project showcases, technical workshops and deal rooms, including a Nature Deal Room hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme.

The platform was beyond presenting projects. It was also a space to understand how the infrastructure for Article 6 and voluntary carbon markets is being built, exchange knowledge and learn from practical experience, such as clear authorisation processes, reliable registries and credible measurement and verification. Two key first-of-a-kind initiatives were launched; the [Africa Nature Impact Fund](https://fsdafrica.org/first-of-its-kind-africa-nature-impact-fund-targets-usd-100m-for-nature-based-solutions-in-africa-2/) and the [Africa Carbon Investment and Finance Alliance](https://fsdafrica.org/africa-carbon-investment-finance-alliance/). Africa Nature is set up to raise and deploy USD100 million for nature-based climate projects, while ACIFA, which has EDF as a collaborating founding member, is to mobilize capital into high integrity African Carbon Markets. These can help turn promising initiatives into investments that buyers and financiers can trust and deploy at scale.

EDF connected with partners through bi-laterals, roundtable discussions and active panel discussions. These conversations offered an opportunity to strengthen partnerships around nature-based climate action, support transparent and bankable initiatives, and explore meaningful support for Indigenous Peoples, local communities and forest jurisdictions. Their participation, rights and benefits must remain central as these markets develop.

Africa is rising to the occasion by building a stronger space for advancing carbon markets that deliver benefits within a transparent regulatory framework. This offers partners within and outside the continent an opportunity to connect available finance with credible initiatives, support investment and contribute to the common good. The work taking place on African soil can help advance the global climate conversation with lessons and partnerships extending well beyond the continent and feeding into discussion in Antalya for COP31 and beyond.