ECOWAS Launches Carbon Market Platform for Climate Finance

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has initiated the establishment of a regional carbon market platform to unlock climate finance and enhance member states' climate ambitions. This initiative was revealed at a three-day workshop in Abuja, where stakeholders reviewed the draft framework and governance arrangements.

Mr. Christophe Deguénon, representing ECOWAS Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, Dr. Kalilou Sylla, emphasized the region's vulnerability to climate change, with projected temperature increases of 1.5 to 3 degrees Celsius by 2050. He noted that nearly 32 million people could face internal displacement due to climate impacts, making regional action essential.

The ECOWAS Regional Strategy for Access to and Mobilization of Climate Finance, adopted in 2022, estimated the region's climate financing needs at $294 billion. Deguénon highlighted the need for a regional framework to operationalize Article 6 to bridge the financing gap, leveraging West Africa's potential for generating carbon credits from its vast agricultural land and forests.