The federal government is pioneering a voluntary billion-dollar worth carbon market on the continent.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo’s media aide Laolu Akande disclosed this a statement on Sunday.

“It is an innovative climate change solution which will create, over the period of energy transition, millions of new jobs in Nigeria alone, according to estimates of the international experts,” said the statement.

The initiative is part of efforts of the Nigerian government to attain the global net-zero emissions target.

The vice president is a member of the recently-formed international steering committee for the Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI), with the objective of facilitating the emergence and growth of the market in Africa.

Besides Mr Osinbajo, other members of the ACMI committee, which would be announced early in November at the COP27 meeting in Egypt, are former president of Colombia, Ivan Duque Marquez, and president of the African Development Bank, Akinwumi Adesina.

Officials of the United Nations, USAID, Gates Foundation and other international private sector players are also members.

ACMI’s estimates suggest that Nigeria alone could produce up to 30 million carbon credits per year by 2030, which at $20 dollars per credit would be worth over half a billion dollars annually.

“At this level of production, the industry could potentially support over three million Nigerian jobs. And Nigeria has only a portion of Africa’s total potential – the impact for the continent as a whole could be far greater,” ACMI’s estimates indicated.

The jobs would span the period of the energy transition, starting from the time the market is able to kick off till 2060.

The committee will be inaugurated at the forthcoming International Climate Change Conference in Egypt, tagged COP 27, with the aim to lead advocacy for the realisation of the carbon credits initiative as an effective way of reducing emissions while financing green growth across Africa.

The carbon credit initiative prioritises the use of environmentally-friendly energy sources for domestic and industrial purposes.

For instance, carbon credits could support the conditional portion of Nigeria and other Africa nation’s nationally determined contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement.

(NAN)