President expected for Carbon Credits forum in Vic Falls

Bulawayo Bureau

PRESIDENT Mnangagwa is today expected to headline the inaugural African Voluntary Carbon Credits Market (AVCCM) Forum in Victoria Falls held under the theme “Accelerating Africa into Climate Economy”.

The conference is a brainchild of Africa Voluntary Carbon Credits Market (AVCCM), a local initiative that seeks to facilitate a robust, holistic and inclusive people-centric approach to the climate economy.

The intervention is set to increase the momentum leading to the achievement of Zimbabwe’s National Development Strategy (NDS1) goals, Zimbabwe Vision 2030, Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and setting the tone for Africa Agenda 2063.

Carbon credits refer to the mechanism in which companies, governments and individuals make payments to enable others to reduce greenhouse gas emissions on their behalf, thus allowing them to receive recognition for their contribution towards climate action.

Zimbabwe is ranked number 12 among countries that trade in carbon credits in the world and the Government together with climate players is fighting to conserve forests and allow the participation of local communities and traditional leaders who have indigenous knowledge systems and local conservation strategies, which have proved effective.

According to a preliminary concept paper presented to the Ministry of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry, the forum, which began on Wednesday, also seeks to deliberate on how to monetise Voluntary Carbon Credits for the betterment of marginalised communities that bear the adverse impact of climate change.

Some of the objectives according to the paper include the promotion of voluntary carbon market in Victoria Falls International Financial Services Centre to facilitate the exchange of knowledge, experiences, and opportunities related to carbon credits among different stakeholders within the Victoria Falls International Financial Service Centre and creating awareness among citizens of Africa about the importance and benefits of mitigating climate change by reducing their carbon footprint.

The Victoria Falls International Financial Service Centre was declared a Special Economic Zone by Government.

Former South African President, Jacob Zuma, is also attending the forum and is billed to represent Belarus Africa Foreign Trade Association (BAFTA) alongside Judge President Mandlakayise Hlophe, South Africa’s Western Cape Division of the High Court who is also a board member at BAFTA.

Minister of Environment, Climate, Tourism and Hospitality Industry Mangaliso Ndlovu as well as the Minister of Finance and Economic Development Professor Mthuli Ncube, are expected to also attend the forum as guest speakers.

The Government recently came up with a carbon credit framework that will see it collecting 50 percent of revenue from the sale of climate mitigation securities. Incomes from the carbon credit will be deposited into the National Climate Fund and channelled towards funding of climate-friendly projects.

Revenue to local investors has been capped at 30 percent while foreign investors will be entitled to at least two percent. The Government nullified all offset programmes and gave producers of the securities two months to comply with new rules including handing over half of their revenue.

The global market for carbon offsets is worth roughly US$2 billion and is projected to grow to as much as US$1 trillion in 15 years according to some estimates.

Benefits of trading voluntary carbon credits on VFEX include increased liquidity, standardisation, access to capital and transparency.