Lawyer and former French Minister of the Environment, highlights 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐥𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐭𝐞 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐨𝐧 𝐟𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐥𝐨𝐛𝐚𝐥 𝐍𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐡. The time has come for sovereign approaches, tailored to local realities and aligned with international standards.💡 « The need to find financing solutions is becoming ever more urgent. It is essential to allow global South countries to put in place the necessary projects […] In this context, the initiative that was taken in Djibouti, and which could well gain a large number of followers in African countries, deserves to be analyzed. » – Corinne Lepage
Sovereign carbon initiatives embody this new dynamic. Sovereign Carbon Agency Djibouti is a concrete example, established by a presidential decree in 2023 and grounded in Articles 6.8.b of the Paris Agreement, it combines:
– 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐑𝐞𝐠𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐲 under the independent governance of the Africa Sovereign Carbon Registry Foundation
– 𝐒𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐛𝐮𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 applied to the aviation and maritime sectors (50% of emissions on arrival or departure), set at $17/tCO₂, directly inspired from the European Union ETS scheme
– 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡-𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐣𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐬: biodiversity restoration, clean water access, waste management, energy transition, healthcare infrastructure, etc
Sovereign Carbon Initiatives comply with strict governance and international carbon accounting standards, enabling the financing of ecological and energy projects that avoid or sequester carbon.
👉🏽The 𝐃𝐣𝐢𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐢 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 (𝐑𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐲’𝐬 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐬) will be certified by Verra and respects the Core Carbon Principles – i.e. quality standards – defined by The Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). This program is also the 𝐟𝐢𝐫𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐂𝐚𝐫𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐦 𝐚𝐮𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐍𝐃𝐂 𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐀𝐝𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭, under the 𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬 𝐀𝐠𝐫𝐞𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 (𝐀𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐥𝐞 𝟔.𝟐 & 𝟔.𝟒).
🇬🇦 𝐆𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐧 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐚𝐥𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐰𝐞𝐝 this path in 2025 setting up the Gabonese Sovereign Carbon Initiative. Other countries could draw inspiration from it, especially in response to the twin environmental and fiscal crises many African states are currently facing.
This mechanism is not a temporary fix, but rather the foundation of a sustainable climate model. By embedding the polluter-pays principle into their national legal frameworks, 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐚𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐧 𝐜𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐭𝐨 𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐫 𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐠𝐲 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧, without relying on global north funding or the speculative dynamics of voluntary carbon markets.