Recent developments in African carbon markets
Bowmans
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Abstract: The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE), which operates Africaâ??s largest stock and bond exchange, launched its recently announced carbon market in collaboration with Xpansiv, an infrastructure provider for global environmental markets. The new market will operate under a separate entity called JSE Ventures and is intended to allow local participants to buy or sell carbon credits and energy certificates, that are held in either local or global registries. Such trade of carbon credits forms part of broader global efforts to reduce green-house gas (GHG) emissions, which are gathering momentum and urgency. The September northern hemisphere heat waves demonstrate the crisis in very tangible terms, having been described by climate scientist Zeke Hausfather as â??absolutely gobsmackingly bananasâ??. The basic premise of these markets is that companies can reduce their global carbon footprints by purchasing carbon credits, which are then offset against other activities that generate GHG. Voluntary carbon markets, such as the one now proposed by JSE Ventures, allow entities to buy carbon credits at their discretion to offset their emissions.