The African Union (AU) and the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF) have begun training more than 80 ambassadors, senior diplomats and policy experts as Africa intensifies efforts to secure a bigger share of the rapidly expanding global carbon market and unlock billions of dollars in climate finance.
The high-level training, held at the AU headquarters in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, is part of the implementation of the Africa Action Plan on Carbon Markets, adopted by the AU Assembly in 2025 to ensure African countries derive greater economic and environmental benefits from international carbon trading.
The initiative comes as decisions reached under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement at COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, are expected to significantly expand global carbon markets, creating fresh opportunities for developing countries, including those in Africa, to attract climate financing.
According to a statement signed by Fatou Diouf, Head of Communications and Influencing at ACBF, the programme is designed to strengthen the technical knowledge and negotiating skills of African diplomats ahead of increasingly complex international climate negotiations.
Speaking at the event, AU Commissioner for Agriculture, Rural Development, Blue Economy and Sustainable Environment, Moses Vilakati, urged African countries to adopt a coordinated continental strategy, stressing the importance of strong governance, transparency, informed consent and legally enforceable benefit-sharing mechanisms to ensure local communities benefit from carbon trading.
Participants examined African-led carbon credit projects, the differences between compliance and voluntary carbon markets, international regulatory models such as the EU Emissions Trading System, and strategies for protecting community rights while ensuring environmental integrity and sustainable economic growth.
Also speaking, Ambassador Laho Bangoura, Special Adviser to the ACBF Executive Secretary and Head of the Foundation’s AU Liaison Office, said building the capacity of African negotiators remains critical as climate finance becomes increasingly central to the continent’s development agenda.
Organisers said the training would enable African countries to negotiate more effectively, present a united position and secure fairer outcomes as global demand for high-quality carbon credits continues to grow.
Supported by the Government of Azerbaijan through the Azerbaijan International Development Agency (AIDA), the initiative reflects growing international collaboration on climate action.
With Africa possessing vast carbon sequestration potential through its forests, wetlands and renewable energy resources, experts believe stronger governance and improved negotiating capacity could help the continent attract billions of dollars annually in climate finance while advancing environmental protection, job creation and sustainable development.
