Those who are for credit markets, see them as a launchpad to global investment, while journeying to a net zero economy.
Those who are suspicious of them, perceive them as a license to allow polluters to charge forth, as long as they can pay for it.
But African credits have seen a growth of 36% on average over the last five years.
Voluntary carbon markets increased four times from 2020 to 2022, surpassing two billion dollars in value, according to the Atlantic Council.
Stock Exchange (JSE) recently launched a new carbon market in collaboration with Xpansiv, the premier infrastructure provider for global environmental markets under a separate legal entity called JSE Ventures.
This move, will allow local participants (private and public companies), to buy or sell carbon credits and renewable energy certificates that are held in local or global registries.
The Xpansiv platform allows for spot trading, auctions, or requests for quotes for both carbon offsets and renewable energy certificates.
Leïla Fourie, Group CEO at the JSE says “there is a heightened global focus on carbon markets and we saw this as an opportunity to bring an innovative solution to our market participants wile positioning South Africa as a significant contributor to decarbonisation.”
“An exciting aspect of operating the global environmental markets infrastructure is partnering with leaders like JSE to enable new marketplaces to scale the energy transition and efficiently support climate finance,” said John Melby, CEO, Xpansiv. “We look forward to working with the exceptional JSE team to promptly deliver a world-class carbon and renewable energy marketplace in Africa and to enabling new regional products and initiatives to thrive as the continent steps up its global climate ambition.”
She adds “this initiative is suited to market participants that have identified clear sustainability commitments, particularly towards net-zero. We look forward to engaging with them on the platform’s range of environmental offerings.”