Tag Archives: NEPAD

AMA, Business

Africa Unveils Landmark Integrity & Equity Principles and Coordination Platform to Strengthen Carbon Markets

MaraviPost

NAIROBI, Kenya, 31 July 2025-/African Media Agency (AMA)/-The African Union Development Agency (AUDA-NEPAD) today announced a series of bold initiatives to elevate Africa’s role in global carbon markets and ensure they deliver both climate and development benefits for the continent.

The announcements were made at a high-level continental dialogue convened in collaboration with the Government of Kenya and Afreximbank. The consultation opened with statements from H.E. Dr. Deborah Mlongo Barasa, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Republic of Kenya; Ambassador Ali Mohamed, Kenya’s Special Climate Envoy; Neil Wigan OBE, British High Commissioner to Kenya; and Estherine Fotabong, Director of Programme Innovation and Planning at AUDA-NEPAD — reflecting strong political and institutional commitment to Africa’s emerging leadership in carbon markets. The United Kingdom is supporting these efforts as a key technical partner to AUDA-NEPAD, including through the secondment of UK climate expert Ravi Raichoora to the agency.

Throughout the consultation, AUDA-NEPAD engaged directly with senior representatives from African Union member states, including Madagascar, Kenya, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Ghana, Liberia, and the DRC, who shared their experiences, challenges, and aspirations in navigating carbon markets. Member States emphasised the vital role AUDA-NEPAD can play — leveraging its continental mandate to promote greater cohesion, alignment, and technical support across the region. In parallel, perspectives from global standard-setters such as the VCMI and ICVCM, rating agencies like BeZero, and leading project developers offered valuable insights into how African priorities can be better reflected in global frameworks.

At the event, AUDA-NEPAD unveiled three major outcomes designed to advance Africa’s carbon market ambitions:

1. The African Integrity & Equity Principles for Carbon Markets — a pioneering framework articulating Africa’s vision for high-integrity, socially inclusive carbon markets. These principles, which will be shaped through broad stakeholder engagement, place social value at the core of market participation. A draft will be presented for formal consultation at the Africa Climate Summit 2 in Addis Ababa (9–12 September).

2. A Continental Coordinating Mechanism — comprising technical experts and focal points from across the 55 AU Member States and regional carbon market alliances. This mechanism will reduce fragmentation, promote shared priorities, and strengthen Africa’s collective voice in global carbon market negotiations, thereby fostering a more coherent, transparent, and investable environment.

3. A Digital Tracking Platform for Article 6 Readiness — currently under development, this tool will offer real-time insights into country-level progress. It will enable governments, the private sector, and development partners to identify opportunities, monitor implementation, and direct capacity-building support where most needed. In addition, the platform will support the development of a continent-wide glossary of carbon market terminology, enhancing consistency and alignment with international best practices.

The event also featured strong engagement from the private sector, including project developers, advisory firms, and rating agencies. Private actors and Member State representatives alike welcomed these three key outcomes as critical enablers to unlock Africa’s carbon potential.

Tijani Nwadei, Partner and Co-founder of Visuias Limited, a carbon markets advisory firm, underlined the importance of AUDA-NEPAD’s coordinating role in catalysing participation, enabling benefit-sharing, and supporting the actualisation of a market that places Africa at the forefront of global supply. Andrew Ocama, Coordinator for the Eastern Africa Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, welcomed AUDA-NEPAD taking on a leading coordination role for carbon markets across the continent, emphasising that such leadership is essential to prevent fragmentation and ensure coherent regional implementation. El-hadj Mbaye, Africa’s lead negotiator for Article 6, called on Member States to take an active role in understanding and engaging in carbon markets, stressing that Africa must shape the future of carbon finance — not simply participate in it.

Distributed by African Media Agency (AMA) on behalf of AUDA-NEPAD

The post Africa Unveils Landmark Integrity & Equity Principles and Coordination Platform to Strengthen Carbon Markets appeared first on African Media Agency.

Agriculture, Malawi, Regional, Top News

Vice President Chilima addresses Global Agriculture Forum and meets President of Benin

Malawi News Agency (MANA)

Vice President Dr. Saulos Chilima Tuesday addressed the high-level inaugural meeting on agriculture and food security under the Malabo Montpellier Forum in Cotonou, Benin.

Dignitaries at the meeting included Benin’s Minister of State for Planning and Development, Abdoulaye Bio Tchané, cabinet ministers, representatives of multilateral and bilateral development agencies and members of the Malabo Montpellier Panel.

In his speech, Chilima said the Malabo forum is enough evidence that food and nutrition security are top priorities in Africa, adding alot needs to be done for Africa to attain food and nutrition security status.

“This explains why food and nutrition security is a major preoccupation of many governments and development agencies,” he said.

Chilima highlighted several efforts at international, regional and national level aimed at achieving food and nutrition security.

The Malawi vice president said for instance, the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals has goal number two which is aimed at achieving zero hunger while the African Union’s Agenda 2063 has its aspiration number one as ‘prosperous Africa based on inclusive growth and sustainable development.’

In addition, the African Union declared 2014 as ‘Year of Agriculture and Food Security in Africa’ as a way of tilting focus as a way of tilting focus towards agriculture and food security.

Said Chilima: ” Further, the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) has agriculture and food security and Climate change and natural resource management as two of its strategic directions. The Southern African Development Corporation (SADC) Food and Nutrition Strategy for 2015-2025 has its goal to significantly reduce food and nutrition insecurity in the region by 2025.”

The veep said on national level, ‘Malawi has just completed a development strategy for 2017-2022 where priority number one is agriculture, irrigation development and climate change management.’

Chilima added that ‘the country is also implementing the National Agriculture Policy.’

He however said a lot more needed to be done by, among other interventions, investing in areas that intensify agricultural productivity and food production through irrigation and improved water management

He further said there was need for diversification of production systems and diets with indigenous fruits, vegetables, and grains.

The veep also called for investment in market information technologies, climate resilience building, product standardization, and food safety regulations.

” African agriculture should shift from largely rain-fed to irrigation. Malawi is finalizing National Resilience Strategy to harness efforts and pool resources towards building resilience,” he emphasized.

He further called for regulation enforcement to ensure that counterfeit food stuff are inspected and removed from the market.

“This requires governments and corporations to work together to promote healthier diets and consumption patterns through appropriate food system regulation and controls,” he said.

The Veep called for a holistic and inclusive approach to fighting malnutrition, promoting agriculture and achieving food security in Africa and at national level.

After the official opening of the conference, Chilima went to the Presidential Palace for a closed door meeting with Benin President Patrice Talon where he conveyed warm regards from President Arthur Peter Mutharika and the people of Malawi.

The Conference ends later Tuesday and Chilima is expected back in Malawi on Thursday.