In what would be the single largest issuance in history, Gabon – Africa’s most forested nation plans to issue187 million carbon credits, half of which are up for sale on the offsets market.
Gabon is collaborating with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s REDD+ mechanism to create the credits.
The Gabonese government also partnered with another firm, African Conservation Development Group, on a similar project covering 700,000 hectares of forest, south west Gabon.
The forests in Gabon alone “absorb a total of 140 million” tonnes of CO2 each year, which is equivalent to removing 30 million cars from circulation throughout the world,” the environmental ministry said.
A carbon credit refers to any tradable certificate or permit representing the right to emit a set amount of carbon dioxide or the equivalent amount of a different greenhouse gas.
Gabon’s Minister of Water, Forest, the Sea and Environment, Lee White said last week on the sidelines of a Commonwealth group of nations meeting in Rwanda.
The country intends to harvest its forests sustainably to generate income, he added. Gabon is second to Suriname as the most forested nation in the world.
Based on the average price for similar projects, Allied Offsets says the number of carbon credits Gabon aims to sell on the market could be worth about $291 million. Such a large issuance, the carbon offsets data provider says it could flood the $1 billion market,if done at once.