Carbon markets: Guinea reviews the roadmap for its Cellule Nationale Crédit Carbone
The national capacity-building and validation workshop on the roadmap for operationalising Guinea’s Cellule Nationale Crédit Carbone opened on 28 September 2026 in Conakry, chaired by Dr Karim Samoura, Secretary General of the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD). Held until 30 September with the support of the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance (WAA), the workshop brings together representatives of the public administration, national institutions, civil society and technical and financial partners.
The meeting comes as Guinea has laid the policy foundations for its engagement in carbon markets. Its Nationally Determined Contribution 3.0, covering the period 2026-2035, provides for the use of the mechanisms under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and a presidential decree provides for the establishment of the Cellule Nationale Crédit Carbone. The roadmap to be submitted to participants is intended to translate these orientations into operational arrangements. It entrusts the future Cellule with the processing, analysis, approval, and monitoring and evaluation of mitigation activities generating carbon credits.
In his opening address, the Secretary General noted that the country now has assessments, based on verifiable calculations, of the carbon stock accumulated through efforts to avoid degradation between the 2015-2020 and 2020-2025 periods. In his view, these results call for strong technical expertise: “These issues must be well understood, and we must have the capacity to analyse them. We invite our committed partners to support us and to broaden the discussion on these technical aspects, so that we can move forward prudently and in line with international requirements.”
This demand for rigour goes hand in hand with a regional dimension, highlighted by Ms Taibou Diallo, Adviser to the Prime Minister’s Office in charge of Environment and Natural Resources. For her, the Alliance’s support opens the way for concerted action on the ecological challenges shared by the countries of the sub-region, from mangrove degradation to the preservation of the water tower of West Africa. She stressed, however, that this ambition cannot be achieved without the people: “The involvement of local communities is essential. Climate finance must remain a tool for inclusive and equitable development, giving people the means to adopt better practices.”
Mr Ousmane Fall Sarr, Coordinator of the West African Alliance on Carbon Markets and Climate Finance, emphasised the same principle. Since 2016, the Alliance has supported its member countries in building their institutional and human capacity by fostering experience sharing and mobilising technical expertise. The roadmap under review in Conakry was developed in support of the work of the MEDD and the Directorate in charge of Climate Change, and draws on the experience of Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal, Ghana and Benin. Above all, Mr Sarr recalled who the framework must benefit: “Carbon markets must first benefit the people of Guinea, particularly the communities whose livelihoods depend on forests, land and energy. The proposed roadmap we are about to review states it clearly: every activity will have to offer fair and equitable benefit-sharing, defined by Guinea and integrating gender and social inclusion.”
Technical sessions began with the architecture of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement: how Articles 6.2, 6.4 and 6.8 work, the principles of corresponding adjustments and alignment with the NDC. Participants will then examine eligibility criteria and the sectoral prioritisation of carbon activities. They will also review the proposed institutional architecture for the Cellule, which comprises a Supervisory Board, a Technical Committee and a Permanent Secretariat. The national procedure, the capacity-building plan and the operationalisation timeline will be addressed last, ahead of the validation of the roadmap on 30 September.