The ECOWAS Commission organized a workshop for the establishment of a regional platform on the carbon market in west Africa

As part of the implementation of the Regional Climate Strategy, the ECOWAS Commission, through the Department of Economic Affairs and Agriculture, organized from 16 to 18 September 2025 in Accra (Ghana), a regional meeting on the process of establishing a carbon market platform in West Africa.

The objective of the workshop was to i) present and discuss the opportunities offered by the establishment of the regional carbon market, ii) enable a common understanding of the regional approach; iii) present and improve the draft documents developed for this purpose, iv) and adopt a roadmap on the next steps in conducting the process with the role of the identified key actors.

In his address at the opening of this workshop, Mr. Yao Bernard KOFFI, Acting Director of Environment and Natural Resources on behalf of the Commissioner for Economic Affairs and Agriculture, stressed that this process aims to seize opportunities for mobilizing financing linked to carbon credit transactions in West Africa; the carbon market being one of the financial instruments within the framework of the Paris Agreement.

He therefore invited the experts and representatives of the Member States present to contribute to the successful completion of this process.

Presiding over the opening ceremony, Professor Nana Ama Klutse, Executive Director of the Ghana Environmental Protection Authority, representing the Minister of Environment, Science, Technology and Innovation, welcomed the initiative taken by the ECOWAS Commission and the choice of his country to host the workshop.

Professor Klutse highlighted the progress made by her country, particularly the institutional and regulatory framework put in place to make its participation in carbon market mechanisms effective. She called for collective action and regional solidarity, hence the relevance of this process launched by the ECOWAS Commission.

The work was furnished by several presentations and discussions, notably on i) the elements of analysis on the state of the market in the region, ii) the state of the global carbon credit market; iii) the characteristics of a “high quality” carbon credit and iv) a draft document on the framework for the creation of a carbon market platform within ECOWAS.

At the end of the work, the draft document on the framework for the creation of a carbon market platform within ECOWAS was validated by the experts subject to taking into account the observations made. A roadmap was also adopted for the next steps.

The participants made some recommendations, including: i) opening the design of the platform to Member States so that they can provide their contributions and carry out a final validation during a physical meeting ; and ii) the organization by ECOWAS of at least twice a year an online meeting to facilitate contributions on emerging issues ; ii) the need for Member States to respond to the demand for contributions for the development of the platform.

This workshop brings together key stakeholders, including Member States, experts in the field of carbon market, international technical and financial partners (Standard & Poor’s Global Ratings, BeZero Carbon, Environment for Development , Africa Energy Transition Services) as well as regional and international institutions including the UEMOA Commission, BIDC, WAPP, ARAA , the West African Alliance on the Carbon Market and Climate Finance).