Tanzania is ready to unlock carbon trading opportunities

DAR ES SALAAM: TANZANIA could earn up to 2bn US dollars annually from carbon trading and other climate-related financing mechanisms if the country fully harnesses emerging opportunities in the global green economy.

The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Carbon Monitoring Centre (NCMC), Kathryn Kigaraba revealed this when speaking to reporters in Dar es Salaam today, May 15, 2026, on the growing importance of carbon markets and virtual environmental assets.

The CEO stated that Tanzania is among the first African countries to institutionalise carbon monitoring systems and establish formal structures for managing climate-related data and carbon trading opportunities.

She noted that unlike in the past, when African countries mainly benefited from physical resources such as gold and minerals through foreign-controlled systems, carbon markets now present a rare opportunity for Tanzania and other African nations to take the lead in regulating and managing their own environmental assets.

According to the NCMC boss, the current focus is on building strong national infrastructure and technology systems capable of collecting and automating climate data used in measuring carbon mitigation and adaptation efforts.

Elaborating, she noted that automated systems would lower operational costs and improve Tanzania’s competitiveness in the rapidly expanding global carbon economy.

She cited the growing international practice of imposing carbon contribution charges on shipping and aviation industries, noting that some global trade routes are already charging between 60 and 110 US dollars per tonne of carbon emissions.

According to her, funds collected through such systems are being used by developed countries to finance climate-friendly infrastructure projects, including greener ports, renewable energy systems and environmentally sustainable transport networks while warning that Tanzania risks missing out on the huge financial opportunities if it fails to move quickly in developing its own carbon financing systems and institutional capacity.

Furthermore, she pointed to examples from other countries where climate financing has already funded solar-powered schools and community development projects, saying Tanzania has the potential to achieve similar gains through well-managed carbon credit initiatives.

“In the past, we only had physical assets. Physical assets are like pigeon peas, sesame, gold. These are physical assets but carbon credit, these are virtual assets. And the value of virtual assets is more than 10 times more than the value of physical assets. If you look at the New York Stock Exchange, all the names are virtual assets. And now we have virtual assets. That’s why we need to learn and develop it,” she said.

She added; “The opportunity is immense and I want to say that this business can bring 2bn US dollars per annum. That’s what we’re doing in this business.”

She further stressed that investment in technology, knowledge and skilled experts would be crucial in enabling Tanzania to benefit fully from the emerging sector.