Faced with the climate emergency, West Africa is seeking new sources of financing. ECOWAS estimates the region’s needs at $294 billion and is counting on carbon markets to mobilize more resources. A regional platform is being developed to better leverage the environmental potential of member states.
West Africa is highly vulnerable to climate change. Factors such as rising temperatures, land degradation, and population displacement suggest that nearly 32 million people could be internally displaced due to climate disruption. To address these challenges, the region’s climate finance needs are estimated at approximately $294 billion. In response, ECOWAS is working to establish a West African carbon market platform.
Faced with a need for $294 billion for climate action, ECOWAS countries must make environmental action a national budgetary priority. Environmental protection, ecology, and sustainable development must therefore be systematically integrated into the planning and implementation of every public project, whether it involves the construction of road, port, or airport infrastructure, urban development, or neighborhood renovation.
KERWIN MAYIZO, Political Analyst
“To address this need, ECOWAS is focusing on carbon markets. With over 350 million hectares of agricultural land, forests, and mangroves, the region has significant potential. However, regulatory and technical shortcomings still limit access to climate finance.
As for whether the carbon market constitutes a sustainable resource for financing the fight against climate change, the answer is no: it is a supplementary and unsustainable solution. The priority must be to rely on our own resources, through national budgets and ECOWAS community funds. Carbon markets, which largely resemble green colonialism, should be considered only as a supplementary tool, and not as the main pillar.
KERWIN MAYIZO, Political Analyst
“Since 2024, ECOWAS has been working to create a regional carbon market platform. It aims to harmonize regulations and facilitate the mobilization of climate finance, particularly through the mechanisms provided for in Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, to mobilize more resources.” The objective: to transform West Africa’s environmental potential into a sustainable source of climate action financing.
