Nigerian Communications Satellite Ltd. has unveiled a groundbreaking carbon credit initiative aimed at curbing greenhouse gas emissions and alleviating the impacts of climate change.
This innovative program prioritizes eco-friendly agricultural practices, empowering rural farmers to generate carbon credits by embracing sustainable methods.
Through this initiative, rural farmers can capitalize on their environmentally conscious farming techniques by earning valuable carbon credits.
These credits can then be traded on the international carbon market, creating a novel revenue stream for farmers while fostering a cleaner environment.
According to a statement released by NIGCOMSAT on Saturday, the organization’s connectivity solutions enable rural farms to tap into global carbon markets, unlocking benefits from their sustainable practices.
By bridging this connectivity gap, NIGCOMSAT facilitates farmers’ access to new income opportunities while promoting environmental stewardship.
As explained by NIGCOMSAT CEO, Jane Egerton-Idehen, carbon credits play a crucial role in mitigating climate change by enabling companies, organizations, and countries to offset their emissions. Each carbon credit represents the reduction or removal of one tonne of carbon dioxide (CO2) or its equivalent from the atmosphere, effectively decreasing the amount of greenhouse gases and contributing to a cleaner environment.
“Our carbon credit initiative is a crucial step towards addressing climate change in Nigeria. By empowering farmers to adopt sustainable practices, we can significantly reduce carbon emissions and create a more sustainable future.”
However, Egerton-Idehen acknowledged that the concept had sparked debate about its effectiveness.
Despite this, African nations are establishing carbon markets to finance sustainable development, aiming to harness Africa’s natural potential for climate solutions while creating economic opportunities.
The NIGCOMSAT CEO highlighted Carbonex, a startup in NIGCOMSAT’s accelerator programme, which is building a platform to enable carbon credit trading.
“CarbonEx helps farmers adopt environmentally friendly practices, capturing carbon dioxide using special techniques. Farmers can earn carbon credits, which are verified and registered on a registry, then traded in a carbon market,” she explained.