Africa's Carbon Removal Revolution
Africa: the Sleeping Giant of carbon removal
This market map from Novastar charts the emerging landscape of carbon removal in Africa, highlighting promising technologies and transformative business models across a sector that is rapidly gaining momentum.
To date, the voluntary carbon market has been dominated by reduction and avoidance projects, which account for around
80% of issued credits across the four major registries, while carbon removal projects represent just 3%.
While reduction and avoidance credits will remain vital in the near term, durable carbon removals are essential to achieve net-zero, and their scale-up is central to global climate targets.
Africa, despite its limited role to date, has the potential to lead.
The continent offers vast land and optimal climate conditions for carbon drawdown and biodiversity growth in reforestation, abundant biomass for biochar, rich basalt for enhanced rock weathering, low-cost renewable energy and a growing entrepreneurial ecosystem.
These ingredients position Africa as a sleeping giant in carbon removal and a vital player in the world’s path to net-zero.
