Zimbabwe Debuts Blockchain Registry For Carbon-Credit Trading
Zimbabwe has debuted a blockchain-enabled registry that will allow approved project developers to trade the nation’s carbon credits.
The step is aimed at making trade in the emission offsets more transparent and regaining the trust of investors after the southern African nation roiled the global carbon credit market in 2023 by suddenly cancelling projects, claiming half of all proceeds and ordering developers to re-register. The move impacted the operations of several project developers including the Kariba Redd+ Project.
Authorities later walked-backed those demands.
Last week the nation also set up the Zimbabwe Carbon Markets Authority to license and approve the registration of carbon credit projects in the country.
The integration of blockchain technology into the carbon registry is a breakthrough for transparency, security and trust among traders and the government, Environment Minister Evelyn Ndlovu said.
The Zimbabwe government contracted Dubai-based A6 Labs to set up the carbon registry that it claims is the first in the world to be blockchain-enabled. It is accessible on zicma.org.zw.
“Every transaction within the registry will be fully traceable, providing an immutable record of carbon credit issuance, trading and retirement,” Ndlovu told delegates Friday at the launch ceremony in the capital, Harare. This technology “ensures the integrity of our carbon market and provides the global community with confidence that the credits we trade are genuine, measurable and impactful.”
Zimbabwe is among several African nations, including Kenya and Zambia, which are seeking to regulate the industry and gain greater control over it. The southern African nation was ranked as the third-biggest producer of carbon credits on the continent, accounting for about an eighth of Africa’s production, according to RippleNami, a California-based data company, in 2023.
A single carbon credit represents a ton of climate warming carbon dioxide or its equivalent removed from the atmosphere or prevented from reaching it in the first place. The credits are acquired by companies or countries to offset their own emissions of greenhouse gases.
Developers interested in getting involved will have to “apply through the system and if they meet the requirements they can proceed,” Washington Zhakata, the acting permanent secretary at the environment ministry said. “If they don’t, they don’t proceed.”
