Luanda - The president of the Industrial Association of Angola (AIA), José Severino, Tuesday pointed to the indiscriminate felling of trees, fires and mining as the main actions contributing to the degradation of the country's soil and ecosystem.
According to the association leader, who was speaking during the workshop on the climate and prospects for the carbon market in Angola, the country has suffered from environmental problems such as deforestation, ravines, drought, alteration of the hydrological cycle and water contamination, due to poor exploitation of natural resources.
He advocated greater supervision, higher penalties and more active legislation that promotes the carbon market so as not to jeopardise future generations.
Jorge Gabriel, a member of the Angolan Carbon Market Association, corroborates the idea of strengthening the law, saying that the incipient environmental regulations are an obstacle to implementing this market.
In his view, the creation of a climate law, which acts and regulates the market, would stimulate investment in the sector.
With a view to greater openness, the expert said that there is a need for greater literacy, discussion and media coverage of this global issue, involving communities, civil organisations, academia and the private business sector, in order to boost this segment and encourage green economy business.
‘We need to make people aware of the importance of the green world, of preserving the environment and of what can be a generator of the carbon market, as a mechanism for reducing carbon emissions,’ he stressed, noting that there are studies that show that the green economy could generate more than three million jobs in Africa by 2030, particularly in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), South Africa and Egypt.
According to Mr Gabriel, Angola can join this projection through actions such as afforestation and reforestation of green areas.
Carbon market
The carbon market is the system for buying and selling carbon credits.
Angola aims to guarantee its greenhouse gas emission targets by allocating emission quotas (credits).
This procedure obliges companies to invest in the renewable energy segment and, given the low emissions in relation to the quota (credit) allocated, to sell to another company in a less favourable situation, which buys according to the needs presented or credits available.
One carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne (1,000 kilograms) of carbon dioxide. At the moment, carbon credits on the international market cost over 90 dollars, according to Investing.com.
Recently, the Minister for the Environment, Ana Paula de Carvalho, said that the country already has development projects related to carbon, the realisation of which should overcome major challenges.
These include the completion of the certification of forests and environmental conservation areas, national parks and reserves, the operationalisation of the climate observatory, the creation of a carbon credit certification system, the development of emission reduction projects and the strengthening of institutional capacities. OPF/VC/DAN/DOJ
