Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls Stock Exchange plans to set up trading in carbon credits by September, seeking to capitalize on sweeping changes to how production of the securities will be regulated in the country.
The exchange, known as VFEX and which denominates the securities on its platform in US dollars, will allow trade in government-approved securities, Chief Executive Officer Justin Bgoni said on Wednesday.
Last week the government decreed that half of the revenue of all carbon-credit programs will now go to the government and at least 20% to local investors. All the projects have to be registered with the state, it said, adding that the unregulated nature of the trade had seen most of the proceeds flowing out the country.
“We will be starting consultations in June,” he said by phone from the capital, Harare. The southern African nation is the world’s 12th largest creator of offsets, with 4.2 million credits from 30 registered projects last year, according to BloombergNEF.
The Zimbabwean government’s announcement roiled the $2 billion global market for the offsets, which are bought by producers of the climate-warming gases to compensate for their emissions. The decision highlighted that the viability of projects can be jeopardized by unexpected orders by governments who argue they should be benefiting more from projects on their territory.
Each carbon credit represents a ton of carbon dioxide equivalent either removed from the atmosphere or prevented from entering it.
Under the VFEX plan, investors will be allowed to list carbon credits on the exchange after approval from the Environment Ministry and admission into the Zimbabwe Carbon Credit Registry, according to the ministry’s carbon framework policy document.
The country’s biggest project is in the northern area of Kariba, covering a 785,000 hectare (1.94 million acre) swath of forest and is operated in part by South Pole, the world’s leading seller of offsets.
--With assistance from Desmond Kumbuka.
