Zambia has taken a major step towards strengthening its participation in global carbon markets with the launch of its National Carbon Registry. The Zambian Government, through the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and the Zambia Environmental Management Agency, launched the digital platform with support from the Supporting Preparedness for Article 6 Cooperation Programme, known as SPAR6C. The launch represents an important milestone in Zambia’s efforts to establish transparent, accountable and internationally aligned systems for managing carbon assets. It also positions the country among the early adopters of fully integrated sovereign digital infrastructure for carbon asset management. By creating a system that tracks carbon projects, emissions reductions and carbon credits, Zambia is strengthening the foundations needed to attract credible climate finance while protecting the environmental integrity of its carbon market.
The National Carbon Registry is designed to provide Zambia with a central platform for tracking, managing and reporting greenhouse gas emissions reductions generated through carbon projects. The system will enable authorities to register carbon projects, quantify and verify emissions reductions and issue carbon credits in accordance with recognised international standards. It will also support accurate and timely reporting, which is essential for maintaining confidence among investors, project developers and international partners. The Registry has been developed to comply with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement as well as Zambia’s national carbon market regulations. Its digital infrastructure is expected to improve oversight of carbon market activities while ensuring that information can be traced and reviewed.
The development of the Registry follows several years of support from the SPAR6C Programme, which has helped Zambia establish the regulatory and institutional foundations needed to participate in international carbon markets. The programme is funded by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety through the International Climate Initiative. Through this support, Zambia has strengthened its systems for participating in cooperative approaches under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement. The country has also signed bilateral agreements on Article 6 cooperative approaches with Sweden, Norway and Switzerland. These agreements have placed Zambia in a stronger position to participate in international carbon trading and access new opportunities for climate finance.
Article 6 of the Paris Agreement provides a framework for countries to cooperate in reducing greenhouse gas emissions and achieving their climate targets. For Zambia, effective participation requires systems that can accurately track mitigation activities and ensure that emissions reductions are not counted more than once. The National Carbon Registry is designed to address these requirements by recording carbon market activities and linking exported carbon credits with Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcomes. This is important because double-counting can undermine the credibility of carbon markets and weaken confidence in reported climate action. Zambia’s investment in a sovereign registry therefore provides an important safeguard as the country expands its participation in international carbon market mechanisms.
The Registry will also support Zambia’s efforts to meet its Nationally Determined Contributions under the Paris Agreement. By tracking mitigation activities and their outcomes, the platform will provide information that can contribute to national climate reporting and monitoring. It will also help authorities manage the relationship between carbon credits that are exported and the country’s broader climate commitments. Preventing double-counting and maintaining accurate records are essential to ensuring that Zambia can demonstrate credible progress towards its climate targets. The system therefore serves both carbon market participants and the government’s wider climate governance objectives.
The launch represents the first phase of Zambia’s National Carbon Registry, with the initial focus placed on carbon projects aligned with Article 6 requirements. A second phase is expected to follow and will incorporate activities in the Voluntary Carbon Market. This expansion will allow the Registry to support registration, reporting and performance tracking across a wider range of carbon market activities. Bringing these activities into a structured national system can improve visibility and strengthen regulatory oversight. It also provides an opportunity for Zambia to build a comprehensive carbon market infrastructure that responds to the needs of both international and voluntary market participants.
An important feature of the Registry is its planned interoperability with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Centralised Accounting and Reporting Platform. This connection will support the transparent exchange of information on mitigation activities, their performance and related issuances. Interoperability with the international platform will also help Zambia prevent double issuance and double-counting of carbon credits. Such integration is important as carbon markets become increasingly interconnected and countries seek to demonstrate that their mitigation outcomes are accurately accounted for. The system will therefore connect Zambia’s domestic carbon market administration with wider international climate accounting processes.
The Zambia Environmental Management Agency will manage the National Carbon Registry and serve as the lead agency responsible for its administration, oversight and integrity. This responsibility builds on ZEMA’s existing mandate to compile Zambia’s national greenhouse gas inventory. The Registry will also be linked to Zambia’s Integrated Monitoring, Reporting and Verification system, creating a stronger connection between carbon market activities and national climate reporting. This integration will support compliance tracking and improve the flow of information across Zambia’s climate governance systems. It will also allow authorities to monitor carbon market activities alongside the country’s wider efforts to measure and report climate action.
Officially opening the launch, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment Dr. Douty Chibamba emphasised the importance of transparency and accountability. He said the Carbon Registry is fully online and that Zambia will ensure all activities comply with the country’s Green Economy and Climate Change Act and the Paris Agreement. He further stressed that information relating to carbon credit activities should be visible and available for public review. Public access to relevant information can strengthen confidence in the carbon market while allowing stakeholders to understand how carbon projects are being managed. The approach reflects Zambia’s intention to build a system where carbon trading is supported by clear rules and transparent oversight.
ZEMA Acting Director General Christopher Kanema also reaffirmed the agency’s commitment to maintaining the Registry to high standards of integrity, security, transparency and reliability. He explained that the system would remain aligned with Zambia’s legal and institutional framework as well as international requirements. The integration of the Registry with the national measurement, reporting and verification system will allow information to move efficiently between carbon market activities and national greenhouse gas accounting. This connection can improve the accuracy of national reporting while supporting stronger oversight of individual carbon projects. It also demonstrates the importance of linking carbon market administration with broader national climate governance.
The Registry is expected to strengthen public trust by making carbon market information visible, traceable and accessible. These features can help regulators monitor projects while giving investors and other stakeholders greater confidence in the carbon credits being generated and traded. Strong transparency systems are particularly important in carbon markets because the credibility of credits depends on the accuracy of emissions reductions and the integrity of the processes used to verify them. By reducing the risk of double-counting and improving traceability, Zambia can protect the environmental value of its carbon assets. The Registry will therefore serve as a key foundation for credible carbon trading and effective climate reporting.
SPAR6C Zambia Team Lead Joachim Schnurr said the Registry provides international investors and project developers with greater legal and digital certainty for carbon trading. He noted that the system can help eliminate the risk of double-counting while streamlining the administrative processes associated with carbon market activities. Greater certainty could make Zambia more attractive to investors seeking opportunities in high-integrity carbon projects. The country has significant ecological resources and substantial potential for projects that can generate emissions reductions while supporting sustainable development. A transparent national system can help translate that potential into investment opportunities while maintaining safeguards for environmental integrity.
The Registry’s development also demonstrates the value of international and regional cooperation in addressing climate change. The platform was developed through South-to-South cooperation with Ghana’s Environmental Protection Agency, providing an example of how countries can share technical expertise and practical experience. Regional cooperation allows countries to learn from one another while adapting climate solutions to their own legal, institutional and economic circumstances. Zambia’s collaboration with Ghana also shows that effective climate governance does not depend solely on support from developed countries. Peer learning among developing countries can provide practical solutions that respond directly to national priorities.
The SPAR6C Programme is internationally implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute and implemented in Zambia by GFA Consulting Group and the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre. The Registry’s development process was led by the UNEP Copenhagen Climate Centre, GFA Consulting Group and the Centre for Energy, Environment and Engineering Zambia, working closely with ZEMA and the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment. This collaboration brought together government institutions, technical organisations and international climate experts to establish the digital and institutional foundations of Zambia’s carbon market. The resulting platform reflects a coordinated approach to developing systems that meet both national and international requirements. Continued cooperation among these institutions will remain important as the Registry expands into additional areas of carbon market activity.
The launch of Zambia’s National Carbon Registry marks a significant development in the country’s climate governance and carbon market ambitions. The platform gives Zambia a digital system for registering, monitoring, verifying and reporting carbon market activities while strengthening safeguards against double-counting and double issuance. Its alignment with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement and connection to national and international reporting systems provide a stronger foundation for credible participation in global carbon markets. The planned expansion into the Voluntary Carbon Market will further increase the platform’s relevance to investors and project developers. Zambia now has an important opportunity to use this infrastructure to attract responsible climate finance, support sustainable development and demonstrate that economic opportunities from carbon markets can be pursued alongside strong environmental and governance standards.