ECOWAS: Abuja hosts validation workshop for a regional carbon market platform amid a USD 294 billion climate finance gap

A three-day validation workshop was held in Abuja, bringing together representatives from ECOWAS member states, regional and international institutions, and technical and financial partners to finalize the framework for a regional carbon market platform. The stated objective is to mobilize climate finance, build national capacities, and enable West Africa to harness its carbon credit potential. Opening the proceedings, Christophe Deguenon, Director of Environment and Natural Resources at ECOWAS, recalled that the 2022 Regional Strategy for Accessing and Mobilizing Climate Finance estimates the region's funding needs at USD 294 billion, an amount expected to grow as member states strengthen their climate commitments. He highlighted carbon markets and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as major levers to bridge this gap. Since 2024, ECOWAS has been steering a regional process aimed at an harmonized framework based on transparency and inclusive governance. Dr Iniobong Abiola-Awe, Director of the Climate Change Department at Nigeria's Federal Ministry of Environment, described the initiative as "timely and strategic," noting that Nigeria has already launched its national carbon market framework and is developing its national registry. For member states, this mechanism could reduce transaction costs and boost investor confidence in still-fragmented domestic markets. By relying on a harmonized framework and Article 6, which authorizes credit transfers between states under UN supervision, ECOWAS seeks to position itself as a credible bloc vis-à-vis international buyers who have become more demanding following controversies over the integrity of African carbon credits post-2022.