COMESA has set up its Carbon fund with the view to ensure that Member States, get value for reduced emission. The fund has been registered in Mauritius and board members are scheduled to meet in the very near future. This was revealed to e-comesa by Dr Mclay Kanyangarara, COMESA Climate Change Advisor.
COMESA with its 19 Member States and combined population of over 430 million people, is a major market within the African continent, and during the last two years, has taken a strong leadership role on behalf of its Member States (and those of the greater African Union), in addressing Africa’s minimal access to, and penetration of, the global carbon finance markets. It has raised the awareness of the plight of its Member States in addressing adaptation and mitigation strategies to address the scourge of climate change which has affected Africa so severely.
As a result of various rounds of stakeholder, roundtable and partnership meetings during this term, COMESA commenced various studies and actions (duly funded and partnered with the Rockefeller Foundation, Norwegian Government, WWF, UNCCD, and other strategic partners and funders) to commence the implementation of a carbon fund that will provide funding and access to carbon project expertise to its participants, investors, developers and Member States.
Through the potential 19 Designated National Authorities that provide the Fund’s project pipeline and distribution channels, the COMESA Carbon Fund is uniquely positioned to provide early stage debt, equity, co-financing opportunities and/or early stage future Certified Emissions Reduction (CER) ’s purchases via Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements (up to 50% of the projected CER issues as determined on a project-by-project basis), as well as mobilise carbon markets expertise to ensure viable projects are progressed accordingly.
COMESA is not inward looking, but seeks to extend its services beyond the COMESA boarders. The COMESA Carbon Fund is structured and designed to encourage broad-based economic development of low carbon and carbon abatement projects throughout the 19 COMESA Member States, the East African Community (EAC) and the South African Development Community (SADC), as well as their neighbouring regions, and to therewith provide access to the various international carbon finance markets within a strategic and aggressive investment banking model. The target size of the Fund is approximately USD 500 million.
The COMESA Carbon Fund is an open ended, self managed expert fund in terms of Mauritius legislation, and is structured as a unitised Collective Investment Scheme.
The Fund Manager, together with an Investment Management Committee will be responsible for the day-to-day operational aspects of the Fund, and will be responsible for all investment decisions and executions, and is accountable to the Board of Directors via quarterly reporting and executive meetings, as well as an annual audited report.
The Board of Directors consists of COMESA and Private Sector representatives under the Chairmanship of the Secretary General of COMESA.
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