Africa’s carbon markets gain momentum as climate finance opportunities expand
South Africa, 19 August 2026 – Africa’s carbon markets are moving into a new phase, with governments strengthening policy, investors looking for credible projects and growing attention on how the continent can unlock more climate finance.
These opportunities will be at the centre of the Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) 2026, taking place from 13 to 15 October 2026 in Kigali, Rwanda. Policymakers, investors, carbon project developers, corporate buyers and market leaders from across Africa and around the world will come together to explore how high-integrity carbon markets can support investment and sustainable development across the continent.
The summit comes as Article 6 implementation advances globally and African governments move from readiness towards delivery. Across the continent, there are signs of a market becoming more active. The African Union is rolling out the Africa Action Plan on Carbon Markets, while countries such as Ghana are developing Article 6 project pipelines and authorisation systems. AUDA-NEPAD’s African Principles for Equity and Integrity in Carbon Markets are also putting greater focus on governance, transparency, community benefit-sharing and confidence in the market.
For Africa, the next challenge is turning this progress into transactions and investment. Buyers and investors are looking more closely at quality, credible MRV, compliance readiness, transaction certainty and clear policy. Strong projects will need to connect with the right capital, buyers, standards, infrastructure and institutional support if the market is to grow.
Hosted by the Ministry of Environment of Rwanda, CMAS 2026 brings together leading public and private sector institutions involved in Africa’s carbon markets. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) serve as host organisations, the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) as host partner, and AUDA-NEPAD as strategic institutional partner.
The growing network behind the 2026 summit reflects the different expertise needed to build a functioning carbon market. New partners and contributors include GIZ, BeZero Carbon, Welthungerhilfe, FSD Africa, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and Carbon Standards International. They join standards bodies, ratings agencies, financiers, governments and project developers working across the carbon market value chain.
The updated programme focuses on some of the questions the market is now grappling with. How do Article 6 and CORSIA move from policy into real transactions? What are buyers and investors prepared to fund? What makes a project bankable, insurable and verifiable? And how can Africa build the MRV and validation capacity it needs while maintaining market integrity?
These conversations will include contributions and technical insights from organisations including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the European Commission. More than 10 African governments and over 20 investors and financiers will also be represented, bringing together the people shaping policy, financing projects and building the market.
Across three days, CMAS 2026 will feature high-level leadership discussions, investor and buyer roundtables, project showcases, technical workshops, solution labs and dedicated deal rooms.
The programme will tackle Article 6 and CORSIA, voluntary demand and offtake realities, high-quality MRV and ratings, policy readiness, regional carbon market alignment and early-stage carbon finance. It will also explore global regulatory shifts, private capital de-risking, authorisation in practice, registry interoperability and how Africa can scale MRV and VVB capacity.
A UNEP-hosted Nature Deal Room will bring African governments, corporate buyers, investors, standards bodies and market intermediaries together to help advance high-integrity nature-based carbon transactions.
“I genuinely think Africa could become the defining force in global carbon markets,” says Shikha Sharma, Global Technical Lead – Offsets & Removals, SGS. “The continent has extraordinary natural assets. If Africa gets governance right, invests in local capabilities and keeps integrity at the centre, it won’t just supply the market. It will influence how the market operates globally.”
For CMAS 2026, the focus on integrity goes hand in hand with investment and implementation. Governments are strengthening policy frameworks, investors are looking for opportunities they can trust and scale, and buyers want greater confidence in the quality of the projects they support. Bringing these different parts of the market together will be important if more climate finance is to reach African projects.
“For UNDP, the true value of carbon markets lies in what they make possible: finance for national priorities, decent jobs, resilient livelihoods, and sustainable development. The task before us in Kigali is to build markets that are credible, investable, and designed to deliver real value for African countries and communities,” said Fatmata Lovetta Sesay, Resident Representative, UNDP Rwanda.
Looking ahead, Emmanuelle Nicholls, Portfolio Director, said collaboration will be critical to unlocking Africa’s growing carbon market opportunity.
“Africa’s carbon markets are entering a defining period as governments strengthen policy frameworks and investor confidence grows. This presents a significant opportunity to unlock climate finance, attract investment and deliver lasting economic, environmental and social value. Realising that opportunity will require collaboration across governments, investors, project developers and the private sector.
CMAS 2026 is designed to bring those stakeholders together to share knowledge, strengthen partnerships and accelerate practical action that supports Africa’s growing carbon markets.”
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