How to use REDD+ carbon finance in conservation

From the newsletter

Ghana has signed a new nature-based carbon credit deal with Singapore that ties forest restoration directly to agribusiness and rural development. The agreement channels international carbon finance into the Kwahu Landscape Restoration Project, which restores degraded land while creating opportunities for farmers and local enterprises.

• The Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD+) credits is expected to deliver a share of the 2.175 million tonnes of credits that Singapore is purchasing from Ghana, Peru, and Paraguay, valued at $56 million.

• Ghana is using this finance to restore degraded land, improve soil fertility and water systems, and invest in cocoa processing that supports job creation and local livelihoods.

More details

• The credits will be authorised under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, ensuring they are recognised within Singapore’s compliance market and safeguarded against double counting. Ghana is among nine countries to have signed such bilateral arrangements with Singapore, with 5% of proceeds directed toward local climate adaptation measures.

• The Kwahu Landscape Restoration Project sits within Ghana’s broader “Reset Agenda,” which seeks to move the economy beyond raw commodity exports. By restoring forests and pastureland, the project strengthens the foundation for agro-industrial ventures in cocoa and cashew.

• For Singapore, the deal is part of its strategy to complement limited domestic emissions cuts with high-quality international offsets. For Ghana, it represents a test case of how REDD+ credits can be deployed not only to conserve forests but also to unlock value chains and create rural jobs.

• Africa is increasingly turning to REDD+ and related carbon finance tools to unlock new economic opportunities. The Carbon Accelerator Programme for the Environment (CAPE), launched by FSD Africa in November 2024 with partners, is designed to catalyse investment into high-integrity nature-based carbon projects. CAPE is supporting up to five projects to achieve financial close and proving their commercial viability.

• Globally, voluntary carbon markets were worth around $2 billion and could grow to 50 times by 2030, according to CrossBoundary’s Carbon Finance Playbook. Yet Africa currently generates only about 2% of its potential carbon credits, just 16% of global supply. The Africa Carbon Markets Initiative (ACMI) estimates that the continent’s carbon credit market could expand 19-fold by 2030, generating up to $6 billion annually and creating 30 million jobs.

• Article 6 frameworks under the Paris Agreement increases this potential. Since 2020, countries like Switzerland and Singapore have signed bilateral agreements with Peru, Papua New Guinea, Ghana, Kenya and more, setting an example for international credit trading. Tree Aid and the World Economic Forum estimate that in Africa’s Great Green Wall region alone, carbon sequestration could reach 1.8 billion tonnes, valued at $28 billion at 2023 market prices.

Our take

• To scale REDD+ in Africa, legal frameworks must guarantee revenue transparency and community consultation. 

• Equitable REDD+ models link carbon payments to local development by easing pressure on the forest while addressing long-standing marginalisation.

• If communities are not recognised as equal partners, the pressures that drive habitat loss will persist despite international investment.