Dodoma, Seoul advance carbon investment talks

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA and Republic of Korea are strengthening cooperation in the carbon market sector as investors from the East Asian nation express interest in developing carbon projects across various regions of the country.

The engagement follows a high-level meeting held in Dar es Salaam yesterday between the country’s Minister of State in the Vice-President’s Office (Union and Environment), Eng Hamad Yussuf Masauni and Korean stakeholders in the carbon business.

Minister Masauni said during the visit, the Korean delegation, studied various aspects of the carbon business and met stakeholders to present investment opportunities available in the country.

“Emission reduction strategies should be implemented both within and outside the country,” he said.

The talks are a result of this March study tour to South Korea by a Tanzanian delegation, led by Eng Masauni, aimed at learning from the country’s experience in carbon trading and attracting investment into Tanzania’s growing carbon sector.

“The visit is now yielding results,” Eng Masauni said adding that South Korea is one of the countries performing well in the carbon business.

As of March, this year, a total of 72 applications for registration of carbon projects had been received by the National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC) based in Morogoro. These included seven projects in agriculture, three in livestock, 33 in forestry, 27 in energy and two in waste.

The March visit to Korea was to promote investment opportunities in carbon projects in the country and to tap into financial, market and technical opportunities in the field of climate change, especially the carbon business.

During the visit, we met and held discussions with several stakeholders, including the Korea Forest Service, who informed the us that Tanzania could benefit from the Subnational REDD+ project window through private institutions such as Good Neighbours.

The Good Neighbours Tanzania Country Director, Ms Ilsun Jung, said Tanzania has many opportunities, which they are interested in investing in through the carbon business while following government procedures.

“The project is still in its early stages of identifying key areas, main challenges and formulating strategies for implementing activities that will benefit the government, communities and other stakeholders involved. The goal is to have the project ready by next year,” said Ms Jung.

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She said the project is expected to be implemented in the regions of Kigoma, Tabora, Singida, Iringa and Zanzibar, and they are seeking key partners with financial capacity and genuine commitment to advancing collaborations aimed at achieving sustainable development in Tanzania.

Tanzania is a member of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.