The African Union (AU) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) have begun preparing African diplomats for what could become one of the continent’s biggest climate financing opportunities, training more than 80 ambassadors, senior diplomats and policy experts to negotiate a stronger African position in the rapidly expanding global carbon market.
The high-level training, held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, marks a major step in implementing the Africa Action Plan on Carbon Markets, adopted by the AU Assembly in 2025 to ensure African countries derive greater economic and environmental benefits from international carbon trading.
The initiative comes as decisions reached under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement at the COP29 climate conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, are expected to significantly expand global carbon markets, potentially unlocking billions of dollars in climate finance for developing countries, including those in Africa.
According to a statement signed by Fatou Diouf, Head of Communications and Influencing at the African Capacity Building Foundation, the seminar aimed to strengthen the technical and negotiating capacity of African diplomats ahead of increasingly complex international climate negotiations.
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Speaking during the programme, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Moses Vilakati, stressed that Africa must pursue a coordinated continental strategy.
“Our collective approach must continue to be guided by our continental frameworks,” Vilakati said.
He emphasised that strong governance, transparency, free, prior and informed consent, and legally enforceable benefit-sharing mechanisms are critical to ensuring carbon markets generate tangible benefits for African countries and local communities rather than external investors alone.
Participants explored African-led carbon credit projects, examined the differences between compliance and voluntary carbon markets, and studied international regulatory models, including the European Union’s Emissions Trading System, to identify best practices adaptable across the continent.
Discussions also focused on safeguarding community rights, ensuring environmental integrity and directing carbon revenues towards climate adaptation, sustainable development and local economic growth.
Special Adviser to the ACBF Executive Secretary and Head of the Foundation’s AU Liaison Office, Ambassador Laho Bangoura, said Africa must invest in human capacity if it is to maximise emerging opportunities in climate finance.
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“As climate finance becomes increasingly central to Africa’s development agenda, capacity development must remain at the heart of our response,” Bangoura said.
Organisers noted that a better-equipped diplomatic corps would enable African countries to negotiate more effectively, speak with one voice and secure fairer outcomes as global demand for high-quality carbon credits continues to rise.
The training received support from the Government of Azerbaijan through the Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA), reflecting growing international collaboration on climate action and sustainable development.
Carbon markets allow countries and companies to buy and sell carbon credits generated from activities that reduce or remove greenhouse gas emissions, such as forest conservation, renewable energy projects and sustainable land management. Africa possesses vast carbon sequestration potential through its forests, wetlands and renewable energy resources but currently accounts for only a small fraction of the global carbon market.
Experts believe that with stronger regulatory frameworks, improved governance and enhanced negotiating capacity, African countries could attract billions of dollars annually in climate finance while advancing environmental protection, job creation and sustainable development. The AU’s Action Plan seeks to ensure that Africa is not merely a supplier of carbon credits but a key beneficiary of the growing global carbon economy.
