Côte d’Ivoire has signed a purchase agreement worth up to US$23 million with Emergent to commercialize high-integrity jurisdictional emission reductions and removals from the World Bank’s Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF).

The agreement, announced today at a special event at COP30 in Belém, was signed by Côte d’Ivoire’s Carbon Markets Office and Emergent. It covers the sale of excess emission reductions and removals generated under the jurisdictional Emission Reductions Program around the Taï National Park, known as Programme de Réduction des Émissions.

This marks a major milestone for Côte d’Ivoire’s REDD+ efforts. The country has already received US$50 million in results-based payments from the FCPF for 10 million tons of certified emission reductions. Following this success, the program has continued to generate verified reductions for 2022 and 2023, a portion of which will now be commercialized through this new agreement and made available to private sector buyers.

Revenues will be distributed in line with Côte d’Ivoire’s Benefit-Sharing Plan, with 75 percent directed to local communities and forest agencies that have actively contributed to forest protection and reforestation.

“Côte d’Ivoire’s achievement is a historic milestone, marking it as the first FCPF country in Africa to enter the voluntary carbon market,” said, Marie-Chantal Uwanyiligira, World Bank Division Director for Côte d’Ivoire. “This reflects the country’s strong commitment to environmental stewardship. We commend the Government of Côte d’Ivoire and Emergent for finalizing this agreement for the first major transaction of its kind. With over 10 million high-quality emission reductions now available for sale, the scale of this success sends a clear signal: the private sector must step up. Accessing this results-based climate finance is essential for reinvesting in forests and communities, setting a powerful example for sustainable development across Africa and accelerating global climate mitigation efforts.  

“This achievement reflects Côte d’Ivoire’s leadership and determination to protect its forests while creating opportunities for communities,” said Ellysar Baroudy, Practice Manager for Environment, Africa West and Central, at the World Bank. “By building on the strong systems and standards developed through the FCPF, the country is now opening new pathways to attract sustainable finance and scale its ambition.”

“Côte d’Ivoire’s success under FCPF is paving the way for broader engagement in high-integrity carbon markets,” said Olivier Mahul, Practice Manager for Climate Finance Mobilization at the World Bank. “The new World Bank’s SCALE program is now helping the country advance this work — providing targeted support to strengthen systems, pursue certification under the ART-TREES standard, and enhance the country’s readiness for carbon transactions.”

All emission reductions are verified against the FCPF Standard, which upholds high levels of environmental and social integrity and aligns with UNFCCC decisions, including the Paris Agreement and the Warsaw Framework.

More about Emergent  

Emergent is a US non-profit that serves as a transactions platform engaging between tropical forest countries and the private sector to mobilize finance to support emissions reductions from deforestation. It does this by developing and bringing practical, credible, and large-scale forest protection solutions to market. Emergent serves as the administrative coordinator of the LEAF Coalition.