President Tshisekedi leads the march for fair carbon credits in Africa

As part of the 78ᵉ United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Félix Tshisekedi of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) took the initiative of leading a crucial mini-summit on the market for fair carbon credits in Africa.

Underlining the importance of this initiative, President Tshisekedi called for a fair price per tonne of carbon within a better-structured global market for carbon credits. The aim is to support African nations in their quest for development.

He strongly criticised the fact that certain companies and even governments in the industrialised countries of the North are investing billions of dollars, up to 400 $ per tonne of CO2, in artificial carbon capture technologies, while devoting barely 5 $ per tonne of CO2 to preserving tropical forests, "natural carbon pumps" with numerous benefits for humanity and nature.

President Tshisekedi affirmed that the DRC is resolutely committed to playing an active role in the fight against climate change, while placing its citizens at the heart of this action. He announced that his country had taken an ambitious decision to protect 15 % of its national territory, i.e. 323,623 km², in areas dedicated to biodiversity conservation. The DRC will strive to achieve more than 70 million hectares of biodiversity conservation areas by 2030, 30 million of which will be earmarked for community conservation.

President Tshisekedi also revealed that the DRC had created an investment fund for the new climate economy. This fund, with mixed capital and transparent governance, will be financed in part by transactions linked to carbon credits and by funds from international partners, such as the country envelope within the Forest & Climate Leaders Partnership (FCLP).

This mini-summit, co-organised by the DRC and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), brought together African leaders committed to the fight against climate change, including President Denis Sassou Nguesso of the Republic of Congo, who chairs the Climate Commission of the Congo Basin countries.