Africa could earn six billion dollars over the next six years thanks to carbon credits, according to a study. But we still need to prepare, explains the Minister of the Environment of Côte d’Ivoire, Jacques Assahoré Konan.
“This is a new initiative that is not sufficiently mastered by our States. We, at the level of Côte d’Ivoire, have just finished setting up the regulatory framework because it is the prerequisite. We must supervise all of this.”
Risk of perverse effect
An Ivorian experiment has raised $35 million to protect the Taï forest, one of the last vestiges of primary forest in West Africa. Half of the money went to local populations, explains the minister. But he is cautious about the carbon credits that many companies and countries that emit greenhouse gases are trying to buy. According to Jacques Assahoré Konan, these credits should not serve as their right to pollute.
“While developed countries are dragging their feet to support the financing of climate action, at the same time, we are seeing a craze for the issue of carbon credits, so we are asking ourselves a lot of questions,” explains the Ivorian minister. Especially since no one is sure of the real impact of this mechanism on the reduction of greenhouse gases. »
Doubts confirmed by scientists. According to a study, only 16% of carbon credit projects actually serve to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The rest is considered greenwashing.
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