Why government-backed authorisation is crucial for African clean cooking carbon finance

In sub-Saharan Africa, household air pollution claims over 800,000 lives yearly, with women and children bearing the greatest brunt. Nearly 80 percent of the population still relies on wood and charcoal for cooking, making clean cooking not just an energy intervention, but also one of the most immediate and high-impact climate and public health interventions available today.

Despite its proven benefits, the sector remains critically underfunded. The core issue is not a lack of solutions or demand, but a structural gap in financing. Without government-backed authorisation, carbon finance, the most viable mechanism for scaling clean cooking, will fail to reach its full potential.

Carbon markets have created a pathway to scale by monetising emissions reductions and allowing developers to significantly subsidise the cost of clean cookstoves, often by as much as 90 percent for low-income households. This model works, but only when there is trust. In today’s carbon markets, credibility is no longer defined solely by project-level verification; it increasingly depends on whether emission reductions are recognised and authorised at the national level. Investors and buyers are demanding greater assurance that credits are not only real but also aligned with host country climate commitments and accounted for transparently.

This is why government authorisation has become foundational. Under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, carbon credits intended for international use must be backed by host governments through Letters of Authorisation. These approvals elevate projects into sovereign-backed climate assets, enabling credits to be transferred as internationally transferred mitigation outcomes and used toward national or international targets. Without such authorisation, credits face limited market acceptance, higher risk premiums, and reduced investor confidence. With it, they gain legitimacy, unlock capital, and create the conditions for scale.

Across Africa, however, many countries remain in a transitional phase. Clean cooking projects are already delivering measurable impact, reducing emissions, protecting forests, and improving livelihoods, but they are constrained by incomplete regulatory frameworks and unclear authorisation processes. This creates a bottleneck where projects are ready to scale, but financing cannot flow at the speed or volume required. The result is a missed opportunity for both climate action and economic development.

Nigeria is beginning to demonstrate what a different trajectory can look like. At a presentation during the second meeting of the National Council on Climate Change, Omotenioye Majekodunmi, director general, noted that the country is now positioned to tap into new rounds of multilateral climate finance.

She outlined three critical priorities: adopting a national carbon market framework capable of unlocking up to $3 billion annually, operationalising the climate change fund to enable immediate mobilisation of resources, and restoring the NCCC budget line within the annual FAAC allocation to ensure long-term financial stability. These steps signal a deliberate shift toward building a functional and investable carbon market ecosystem.

This direction is already taking shape. Nigeria’s Carbon Market Activation Policy and the development of a national carbon registry point to a shift toward structured governance and stronger oversight. The country is positioning itself not just as a passive host of projects but as an active regulator of carbon integrity.

In a pivotal move, the NCCC issued its first Letters of Authorisation to approved project developers in March, marking a shift from policy intent to market implementation. Early projects that received authorisation, including BURN, a major clean cookstove manufacturer, illustrate how this framework can translate into tangible outcomes.

Authorisation paves the way to carbon financing that enables local manufacturing, job creation, and the large-scale distribution of clean cooking solutions through facilities such as BURN’s ISO-certified plant in Kano. These are not isolated corporate efforts but emerging examples of how a functioning carbon market can anchor domestic value chains while delivering climate and development benefits.

The authorisation of such projects signals to global markets that Nigeria is not only open for high-integrity carbon trading under Article 6 but is also building a system where private sector participation is aligned with national priorities and long-term sustainability goals.

If clean cooking is to scale across Africa, this kind of policy clarity must become the norm rather than the exception. Governments need to move decisively to operationalise Article 6 frameworks, establish transparent and predictable authorisation processes, and embed carbon markets within their national climate strategies.

The opportunity is significant: carbon finance has the potential to channel billions of dollars into African economies, supporting local manufacturing, creating jobs, and accelerating access to modern energy. But this will only happen where regulatory certainty exists. Governments can accelerate this by establishing clear guidelines and standards for carbon credits, ensuring transparency and accountability, and embedding carbon markets firmly within their Nationally Determined Contributions.

The technology is available, the demand is undeniable, and the financing model has been proven. What remains missing in many markets is the enabling policy environment. Without government-backed authorisation, clean cooking carbon projects will remain fragmented and underfunded. With it, they can scale rapidly, reaching millions of households and delivering one of the fastest and most tangible climate wins available today.

Josephine Okojie-Okeiyi is an Assistant Editor with BusinessDay. She reports on industry, trade, agriculture, climate change, environmental issues and entrepreneurship.