• Guidelines will enable Zambia manage approval, implementation, and regulation of carbon projects.
• Transactions on the carbon market are intended to meet commitments under climate change conventions.
• The carbon market refers to trading systems in which carbon credits are sold and bought

Government says it has developed Interim Guidelines on Carbon Market and Trading, which will enable the country manage approval, implementation, and regulation of carbon projects.
Speaking during the launch of the Guidelines, Minister of Green Economy and Environment Engineer Collins Nzovu said transactions on the carbon market are intended to meet commitments under climate change conventions and thereby contribute to good environmental management.
Engineer Nzovu stated that the carbon market refers to trading systems in which carbon credits are sold and bought, adding that the interim guidelines outline some administrative measures and procedures to guide government and stakeholders in the regulation and management of the carbon market in Zambia during the interim period until the enactment of the Climate Change Act.
He noted that Zambia has been facilitating implementation of projects under the carbon market since the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 which gave emission reduction targets to industrialized countries.
Engineer Nzovu said the Climate Change Act, whose enactment is expected during the first half of 2023, will provide for the regulation of carbon in Zambia.
“The Ministry has aligned the interim guidelines to the rules guiding the functioning of the carbon market under the Paris agreement, which were finally agreed at COP-26 in November 2021,” he said.
“The guidelines are meant to ensure that the country does not lose out from the carbon market but takes advantage and ensures Zambian people, especially the rural communities, benefit from this innovative source of climate financing,” he stated.
The Minister further disclosed that government will not provide finance to project developers for the carbon market but will only play a role in facilitating the partnerships that project developers come up with.
“We will also pay extra attention to ensure that local market players, especially local communities participating in this market are not exploited, but get their fair share of the accrued benefits,” he stated.