Zuma, through the Bafta umbrella allocated two million carbon offsets to be placed on the AVCCMF for sale. Photo: Jacob Zuma Foundation
Former president Jacob Zuma has stressed that climate change presents a major threat to long-term growth and prosperity of humanity and has pledged his support for the African Voluntary Carbon Credits Market Forum (AVCCMF).
Zuma was addressing the first AVCCMF in Zimbabwe on Thursday.
The forum aims to establish a Pan-African carbon registry that will trade on the Victoria Falls stock exchange.
Zuma, who represented an organisation called the Belarusian African Foreign Trade Association (Bafta) on whose board he serves, said climate change has a direct negative impact and increases the triple challenges of poverty, inequality and unemployment on the continent.
“Africa has a colossal opportunity to play a crucial role in saving the world through climate solutions, whilst simultaneously opening space for African climate entrepreneurship, for innovative forward thinking Africans.”
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Zuma said climate change is a global challenge that does not respect national borders and emissions affect people everywhere.
“You will recall that it was in 2001 when the International Monetary Fund, declared Zimbabwe unsuitable to access its resources.
“The irony of the International Monetary Fund, shows that their decision was wrong and unfair, because the people of Zimbabwe have shown qualities of wisdom, innovation and creativity.
“Under the Zimbabwean leadership, in the identification, adaption and implementation of this platform of trading Carbon Credits, Zimbabweans have proved beyond reasonable doubt, that they are more than capable of addressing the problems facing Zimbabwe and the entire African continent,” Zuma said.
The former president of South Africa pledged his support to the African Voluntary Carbon Credits Market Forum initiative.
“As such, in an effort to support the African Voluntary Carbon Credits Market Forum as an international and global mechanism. We, through the BAFTA umbrella, have allocated two million carbon offsets to be placed on the AVCCMF for sale.
“This is our pledge to kick start the process. AVCCMF needs the support of us all as it is not merely a Zimbabwean or African effort but is one that ought to be supported by other progressive nations of the world,” Zuma added.
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