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Press Release

The Beginning of Africa’s Carbon Market Story: Integrity, Equity, and Growth Take Centre Stage

Posted on October 23, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

23
Oct

Johannesburg, South Africa – October 23, 2025 – Africa is poised to take a leading role in global carbon markets, positioning its natural assets as a source of sustainable growth and community development, according to speakers at the keynote session “Scaling Carbon Markets for Africa’s Sustainable Growth” at the Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) 2025. The session opened with remarks from Candice Stevens, CEO of the Sustainable Finance Coalition, who emphasised the continent’s opportunity to harness its ecosystems for inclusive development and climate action.

Keynote speakers at CMAS 2025 (right to left: Candice Stevens, Iain Banner, Sandra Lindström, Dion George MP, Maxwell Gomera, Storm Patel)

Hon. Dion George, South Africa’s Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and Environment, set the stage by unveiling the Draft South African Carbon Markets Framework and the Draft Carbon Credit Revenue Plan, which aim to establish high-integrity carbon finance channels while ensuring local benefits. “One credit, one use, one count — no double counting, no overselling, no ambiguity,” said Minister George. He further underscored Africa’s strategic potential, noting, “Africa must move from being a price taker to being a price setter in the global system.”

Other speakers highlighted the critical elements for scaling Africa’s carbon markets. Fenella Aouane of the Global Green Growth Institute stressed that the era of framework design is over: “From readiness to results — Article 6 is no longer about design, but delivery,” she said. “Global carbon governance is evolving; implementation defines progress and impact.” Sandra Lindström from the Swedish Energy Agency reinforced the importance of transparent reporting and verification, noting, “Strong verification and transparent reporting are key to credible carbon markets,” and added that international collaboration accelerates sustainable outcomes.

Maxwell Gomera of the UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub emphasised that carbon markets can deliver real benefits on the ground: “Carbon markets won’t fix everything, but built with integrity, they send real money to the ground and keep forests standing.” He added, “We must translate carbon revenues into tangible benefits for local communities.” Estherine Fotabong of AUDA-NEPAD highlighted continental coordination as key to harmonising standards: “Let us ensure carbon finance works for Africa with integrity and equity at its core,” and “Continental frameworks provide the backbone for harmonised, fair, and inclusive markets.”

Storm Patel of TASC showcased people-centred carbon projects that simultaneously address climate impact and livelihoods. “We’re not meeting at the end of a story—we’re meeting at the beginning of one,” Patel said. “People-centred projects prove that climate action and livelihoods can advance together.”

The session underscored several recurring themes, including integrity and trust, equitable benefit-sharing, capacity building, and regional collaboration. Speakers emphasised that Africa’s carbon markets can transform forests, oceans, and rangelands into sustainable revenue streams, fund local adaptation and clean energy projects, and attract global investment while retaining value locally.

CMAS 2025 concluded that moving forward requires operationalising national and regional carbon market frameworks, scaling transparency and governance, investing in human capital, mobilising private finance, and centring communities in market design. Speakers also encouraged the importance of showcasing successful projects to build confidence and demonstrate Africa’s leadership potential in global carbon markets.

VUKA Group
Carbon Markets Africa Summit is organised by VUKA Group, which has more than 20 years’ experience in serving the business community across Africa.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the official host organisation. Other partners and sponsors for this inaugural event include the following:
Strategic institutional partners: AUDA NEPAD and UNEP.
Diamond sponsor: TASC
Gold sponsors: FSD Africa, SGS and Trees for the Future

Event dates and location:
Dates:
21 October: Pre-summit day
22–23 October: Summit
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Contact details for Carbon Markets Africa Summit:
Project Lead: Emmanuelle Nicholls
Cell: +27 83 447 8410
Email: emmanuelle.nicholls@wearevuka.com

Event website: About — Carbon Markets Africa

Press Release

Carbon Markets Africa Summit to unlock billions in climate finance for the continent

Posted on October 15, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

15
Oct

“The carbon economy is global, but its solutions are local”

CAPE TOWN, SA – Africa’s vast natural resources hold enormous potential to drive climate action and sustainable growth, but turning that potential into investment requires collaboration, integrity and readiness. From 21 to 23 October, the Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) in Johannesburg will bring together over 280 policymakers, investors and project developers from 40 countries to accelerate the continent’s participation in high-integrity carbon markets.

Hosted by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), with AUDA-NEPAD as strategic institutional partner and One Carbon World as official climate impact partner, CMAS marks the first continental event dedicated to unlocking Africa’s carbon value through integrity, investment and impact.

“Carbon markets can unlock billions in finance for the continent,” says Maxwell Gomera, Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub. “With the right partnerships and governance, Africa can convert its natural wealth into climate-resilient growth and jobs.”

For Madeleine Garlick, Africa Director at One Carbon World, partnerships are key: “African innovators are leading the market now, but with collaboration, we can achieve the scale needed to ensure it delivers for everybody.”

Turning ambition into action The summit’s theme of collaboration is reflected in its sponsors: TASC, an award-winning developer of high-impact carbon projects, is the diamond sponsor, joined by FSD Africa, SGS, and Trees for the Future as gold sponsors, and GIZ and Carbon Coin as silver sponsors.

“Our projects are having a monumental impact at a grassroots level—all this enabled through carbon finance,” says Shelley Estcourt, CEO Africa at TASC. Francesca Cerchia, Global Head of Climate Solutions at SGS, adds: “We need to make sure Africa is at the centre of voluntary carbon market development.”

Meanwhile, Tim McLennan, CEO of Trees for the Future, notes: “Farmers are the most vulnerable to climate change; our mission is to assist them to restore land and unlock prosperity.”

Scaling Africa’s solutions With participation from nine African governments—including Comoros, DRC, Ethiopia, Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda—and 14 innovative carbon projects, five of which are raising capital, CMAS will showcase how the continent’s solutions are both local and transformative.

“The carbon economy is global, but its solutions are local,” says Chidalu Onyenso, Founder and CEO of Earthbond (Nigeria). Another expert speaker at the summit, Nicole Dewing, Co-Founder of Africa Carbon & Commodities (Senegal), explains that: “High-integrity

plastic credits can underwrite a circular economy where communities earn, oceans recover and investment delivers verifiable impact.”

Driving a just transition CMAS features a full programme of ministerial and investor roundtables, technical workshops, and sector dialogues featuring pan-African projects and pioneers in energy and cookstoves, blue carbon, nature-based solutions and urban circularity.

According to Gabriel Labbate, Global Team Leader of the UN-REDD Programme (UNEP), “Initiatives like the REDD+ Investments in Africa Roundtable at CMAS are crucial to bridging the gap between supply and demand and turning ambition into implementation.”

As Daniel Okoth, Head of Carbon at SunCulture (Kenya), puts it: “We’re not just creating carbon credits—we’re creating climate-smart livelihoods.”

Marc Baker, Director of Carbon Tanzania, adds: “We are at an inflection point in the carbon markets, with growth, increasing integrity and the emergence of Article 6.2 providing opportunities for scale.” For more inspiring interviews with CMAS partners and speakers, click here. To download the full CMAS programme, click here.

VUKA Group Carbon Markets Africa Summit is part of the green economy portfolio of VUKA Group, which has more than 20 years’ experience in serving the business community across Africa.

Event dates and location:

21 October: Pre-summit day

22–23 October: Summit

Venue: Protea Hotel by Marriott–Balalaika Sandton, Johannesburg, South Africa

Website: Carbon Markets Africa

Press Release

UNDP partners with Carbon Markets Africa Summit: “Preparing governments to become carbon market ready”

Posted on September 30, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

30
Sep

“Carbon markets can unlock billions in finance for the continent”

“How is it possible that in 2025, when we are able to send people to the moon, when we are able to create driverless vehicles, we’ve not been able to solve the problem of cooking energy in Africa’s rural areas?” asks Maxwell Gomera, Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub.

He continues: “This is something that is within our means. And as the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, we are now working with governments across Africa on how to solve such problems. High-integrity carbon markets can offer Africa a powerful tool to mobilise finance required to advance climate action and ensure fair benefits while driving sustainable and inclusive development.”

Carbon markets unlocking billions
“Africa no longer waits for promises to be kept—we act,” Mr Gomera adds. “Carbon markets can unlock billions in finance, strengthen our institutions, and accelerate both Agenda 2063 and the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal. At UNDP’s Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, we believe in a unified continent ready to harness this opportunity, own its solutions, and lead the global transformation towards resilience and prosperity.”

The UNDP is the official host partner of the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit CMAS), taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 October, gathering the continent’s entire carbon markets value chain, from successful early carbon market movers, climate-finance-ready projects and regulatory bodies to global institutional development organisations and investors.

“We cannot continue talking about Africa’s potential. We must make that potential a reality,” says UNDP’s Maxwell Gomera. “The Carbon Markets Africa Summit matters, because we bring together like-minded people to strengthen the ecosystem around a problem that we all share and provide solutions. Our message is: Tomorrow is worth fighting for.”

The UNDP is making important contributions to the Carbon Markets Africa Summit programme:

CARBON 101
As part of the CARBON 101 pre-summit masterclass on 21 October, UNDP Carbon Market Programme Specialist Bernardin Uzayisaba will facilitate a session on “Why carbon markets matter – and why Africa’s timing is critical.” There is already a lot of interest in this masterclass by delegates who will gain a foundational understanding of global carbon markets—both voluntary and compliance—and their evolving mechanisms: what they are and how they work. In addition, he will explore the global architecture shaped by Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and Africa’s emerging role in a system that’s rapidly evolving.

Day 1: Keynote session
– Maxwell Gomera, Resident Representative of UNDP South Africa and Director of the Africa Sustainable Finance Hub will deliver a keynote address in the CMAS opening session on 22 October.

– Sandra Lindström, Head of International Climate Cooperation, Swedish Energy Agency, a UNDP partner, is another keynote speaker in this session, as she explains: “Sweden has been active in carbon markets for over two decades and we believe that Article 6 of the Paris Agreement has an important role to play in enabling increased global climate ambition. Our long-standing partnerships in Africa are being ramped up to include cooperation on emissions trading with strong sustainable development contributions”.

Turning policy into action
As African countries transition from climate ambition to implementation, regulatory clarity is emerging as the cornerstone of carbon market development. UNDP Carbon Market Programme Specialist Bernardin will moderate the discussion on “Africa’s carbon market frameworks: Turning policy into action” in this session, which will explore how national frameworks are evolving post-COP29, what integration of Article 6 looks like on the ground, and how public-private collaboration can drive effective execution.

NBS & AFOLU discussion
In the sector-focused dialogue on nature-based solutions and AFOLU, Mr Uzayisaba will also join the expert panel discussion to explore carbon methodologies, investment models, policy frameworks, and the role of communities in delivering high-integrity, land-based carbon outcomes.

African companies entering carbon markets
On Day 2, Tomas Sales, Special Advisor for UNDP Africa Sustainable Finance Hub, will co-lead the workshop on “How African companies can enter the carbon market.”
This workshop is designed for African corporates and SMEs looking to understand the business case for engaging in carbon markets.

[Read the full interview with UNDP’s Maxwell Gomera here.]

VUKA Group
Carbon Markets Africa Summit is organised by VUKA Group, which has more than 20 years’ experience in serving the business community across Africa. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the official host organisation.

Other partners and sponsors for this inaugural event include the following:
Strategic institutional partners: AUDA NEPAD and UNEP.
Diamond sponsor: TASC
Gold sponsors: FSD Africa, SGS and Trees for the Future

Event dates and location:
Dates:
21 October: Pre-summit day
22–23 October: Summit
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Contact details for Carbon Markets Africa Summit:
Project Lead: Emmanuelle Nicholls
Cell: +27 83 447 8410
Email: emmanuelle.nicholls@wearevuka.com

Event website: About — Carbon Markets Africa

Press Release

One Carbon World joins Carbon Markets Africa Summit as official climate impact partner

Posted on September 9, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

09
Sep

“Partnerships the way to scale of the African carbon market”

One Carbon World (OCW) will be the official climate impact partner of the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit (CMAS) taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 October.

OCW is a not-for-profit dedicated to helping organisations reduce their carbon footprint and achieve recognised standards such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). They provide tailored guidance to clients and advocate for putting high-quality data in front of decision-makers.

One Carbon World is the official Climate Impact Partner for CMAS2025

Carbon Markets Africa Summit will gather the continent’s entire carbon markets value chain, from successful early carbon market movers, climate-finance-ready projects and regulatory bodies to global institutional development organisations and investors.

Measuring CMAS carbon footprint
“We are very, very proud to be working with the VUKA group as their climate impact partner for the CMAS Summit,” says Madeleine Garlick, One Carbon World Africa Director. “We will be measuring the carbon footprint of the CMAS Summit. VUKA believes in leading by example, which includes setting high standards for themselves.”

She adds: “Our partnership, we hope, will enable VUKA to gather huge amounts of data to understand the impacts of their summits. By working together, we hope to be able to track year-on-year improvements. It is a journey. And we think that this is a really, powerful move by an organisation who are not only hosting the critical green conversations that we need about Africa’s future, but are also leading the way by walking the walk themselves.”

Monitoring, reporting and verification
One Carbon World recently began to expand its work into nature-based solutions projects in the carbon market. Garlick explains: “This is very much in response to what our customers have been asking for, which is high integrity carbon credits to support their low carbon journey. We particularly support our customers and clients and projects through the MRV process (monitoring, reporting and verification) to ensure that their process and activities are high integrity and comply with all the relevant data and global verification requirements. Ultimately, we believe that carbon markets are a key part of the climate journey for a number of organisations.”

Partnerships key to scale African carbon markets
According to Madeleine Garlick, One Carbon World’s key message at CMAS will be that “African stakeholders and innovators are developing and leading the market at the moment. And the most important thing at this point in the progress and development of the African carbon market is partnership. Partnerships between businesses, partnership between project implementers to learn from each other, partnerships with communities, finding new ways to deliver value at the grassroots level. Partnership is the way we will get scale out of the African carbon market and ensure it is delivering for everybody.”

Future of sustainable events in Africa
“We’re thrilled to accompany VUKA on the start of their journey as they take meaningful steps to measure the emissions of their inaugural Carbon Markets Africa Summit,” states Andrew Bowen, One Carbon World CEO. He continues: “With One Carbon World’s extensive experience in footprinting the emissions from large events around the world, we know how impactful this kind of leadership can be in shaping credible sustainability conversations and global climate action. We look forward to our partnership as we work together to advance the future of sustainable events in Africa and beyond.”

[Read and watch the full interview with Madeleine Garlick, One Carbon World Africa Director here.]

VUKA Group
Carbon Markets Africa Summit is organised by VUKA Group, and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) is the official host organisation.

The VUKA Group (formerly Clarion Events Africa) is a leading Cape Town-based and multi-award-winning organiser of exhibitions, conferences and digital events across the continent in the infrastructure, energy, mining, mobility, ecommerce and CX sectors. It has more than 20 years’ experience in serving the business community across Africa. Other well-known events by The Vuka Group include Africa’s Green Economy Summit, Smarter Mobility Africa, Enlit Africa, DRC Mining Week, Nigeria Mining Week, DRC-Africa Battery Metals Forum, ECOM Africa and CEM Africa.

Event dates and location:
Dates:
21 October: Pre-summit day
22–23 October: Summit
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Contact details for Carbon Markets Africa Summit:
Project Lead: Emmanuelle Nicholls
Cell: +27 83 447 8410
Email: emmanuelle.nicholls@wearevuka.com

Event website: About — Carbon Markets Africa
One Carbon World website: https://www.onecarbonworld.com

Go Green Africa, Press Release

Go Green Africa’s new Section 18A status “very important for pushing the green agenda”

Posted on August 25, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

25
Aug

“We are only just getting started”

“The finance team has worked very hard and it isn’t easy to secure a Section 18A tax status with SARS, but we needed it, we’ve got it, and I’m delighted.” So says Iain Banner, Founder and Chairman of Go Green Africa (GGA), the South African non-profit organisation launched during the inaugural Cape Town E-Prix in 2023.

Since then, GGA has advocated for the green economy transformation within Africa through conferences, such as Africa’s Green Economy Summit and Carbon Markets Africa Summit, dedicated partnerships, projects and education, working with experts, funders and change-makers, including Siemens, Uber, the Western Cape Government, Eskom and Kudos.

GGA was recently awarded Section 18A tax status in South Africa. “The reason that is significant,” Banner explains, “is that it allows corporates to participate with us and to benefit from a tax deduction for the monies that it contributes towards helping Go Green Africa and its activities of pushing the green agenda. It’s very important.”

Polluters and solutions on board
According to Banner, highlights of the GGA journey so far have included securing partnerships with the likes of Eskom, Uber “and Siemens, who have verbally agreed to come on board—it was pending our Section 18A status that’s now been secured. We also have one of the big four banks in South Africa joining us. And there will be many more that come alongside us.”

He adds: “And we want both polluters and solutions. We’ve had deep discussions with Sasol, and I’m hoping that they’ll be with us too. So when people say, oh, you can’t take on the polluters, ‘well, why not?’ is my question to them; because until you have them inside the tent, how can you possibly help to influence outcomes going forward?”

Green vs black economy
The Go Green Africa Chairman says it would be wrong to “push hard for the green economy without recognising the fundamentally important role that traditional energy sources have played and continue to play in the future of the growth of the world. For us, and for me in particular, green sits very much as the clean alternative.”

Banner continues: “It needs to be economically viable in order to be adopted. We are working very hard to help showcase technologies that allow for production in a green manner and that is starting to bear fruits around the world. But we are really at the beginning of a journey. And the notion that green will completely replace the black economy is misplaced in my view. It will always have a role.”

[Read or watch the full interview with Iain Banner here.]

About Go Green Africa
Go Green Africa is part of the Green Economy Portfolio in partnership with VUKA Group, which has more than 20 years’ experience in serving the business community across Africa.

Upcoming events:
Carbon Markets Africa Summit: 21–23 October 2025, Johannesburg, South Africa
Africa’s Green Economy Summit: 24–27 February 2026, Cape Town, South Africa

Go Green Africa website: https://www.go-green-africa.com/

Contact details:
Tailor-made partnerships: Errol Bryce
Cell: +27 83 613 4578
Email: errol.bryce@wearevuka.com

Project Lead: Emmanuelle Nicholls
Cell: +27 83 447 8410
Email: emmanuelle.nicholls@wearevuka.com

Press Release

Carbon-finance project pioneer TASC joins Carbon Markets Africa Summit as diamond sponsor

Posted on August 20, 2025April 20, 2026 by Julian Yeates

20
Aug

“Projects with monumental impact at grassroots level”

The organisers of the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit have announced the diamond sponsorship of TASC, the award-winning and pioneering carbon finance project developer with a proven track record of innovative climate mitigating techniques and investing in local communities.

Taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 October, Carbon Markets Africa Summit will gather the continent’s entire carbon markets value chain, from successful early carbon market movers, climate-finance-ready projects and regulatory bodies to global institutional development organisations and investors.

High-impact carbon projects at scale
“At its core, TASC is community-driven and we believe in delivering real-world social and environmental impact rooted in rigorous carbon science,” says Shelley Estcourt, TASC’s CEO for Africa.

She adds: “We focus on delivering high-integrity, high-impact carbon projects at scale.
Historically, we have been focused on cookstoves, but our GRASS* project is a testament to our ability to diversify quite significantly. Backed by a dedicated in-house R&D team, we are constantly innovating and exploring new methodologies, platforms, and country partnerships. We have a big focus on projects that deliver impact at scale, combined with sound carbon modelling and science.”

* Grassland Restoration and Stewardship in South Africa

TASC is currently active across sub-Saharan Africa and Australia, with expansion plans into other parts of Africa and the Australasian region. Their focus is on jurisdictions with advanced Article 6 carbon market frameworks, where the enabling environment allows for long-term, scalable impact.

950,000 cookstoves distributed
In 2023, TASC won the Environmental Finance Voluntary Carbon Market Award for its cookstove project. “The award and the associated finance mechanism via Standard Bank were instrumental,” says Estcourt.

“It enabled us to repay early-stage funding and significantly expand the scope of the programme. To date, we’ve distributed clean cookstoves to over 950,000 households across rural South Africa, with benefits for both community health and carbon reductions.”

Reversing effects of climate change
TASC’s GRASS project directly tackles the consequences of climate change by restoring degraded rangelands, boosting carbon sequestration, and building long-term resilience for rural communities.

Escourt: “Climate change has significantly reduced the adaptive capacity of farmers, which sees them to increased drought vulnerability, erosion, bare soils, and more extreme weather impacts. GRASS helps reverse these effects by improving water-holding capacity, stabilising soil temperatures, reducing erosion, and increasing biodiversity across hundreds of thousands of hectares.”

GRASS is also the world’s first project registered under Verra’s VM0042 methodology, enabling robust monitoring and the generation of certified carbon credits.

Important opportunity
As the diamond sponsor of the inaugural Carbon Markets Africa Summit in Johannesburg from 22–23 October, TASC is excited to be part of what Estcourt describes as “an important opportunity to bring thought leaders, developers, policymakers, and buyers into one room. It’s a platform to hopefully accelerate Article 6 readiness, deepen understanding of what high-impact projects look like on the ground, and promote stronger collaboration across the continent.”

She continues: “For buyers, this is your chance to meet developers face-to-face, ask the hard questions, and build real trust in the market. Come and listen to the passion.”

[Read the full interview with TASC’s Shelley Estcourt here.]

Event dates and location:
Dates:
21 October: Pre-summit day
22–23 October: Summit
Location: Johannesburg, South Africa

Contact details for TASC:
Commercial Director: Dr Storm Patel

Email: storm@tasc.je

Contact details for Carbon Markets Africa Summit:
Project Lead: Emmanuelle Nicholls
Cell: +27 83 447 8410
Email: emmanuelle.nicholls@wearevuka.com

Event website:About — Carbon Markets Africa

“Carbon markets can unlock billions in finance for the continent”

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