Mozambique cuts CO2 emissions and receives funds from the World Bank

In the Gilé nature reserve, in northern Mozambique, the vegetation is so dense that the car struggles to make its way through the lianas and branches ... RFI / Liza Fabbian

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Mozambique is the first country to receive a payment from the World Bank for reducing its CO2 emissions by fighting deforestation.

More than 5 million euros have been released from the Carbon Fund hosted by the international financial institution, in exchange for carbon credits, thanks to the results measured since 2019.

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With our correspondent in Johannesburg,

Forests play a crucial role in the fight against climate change thanks to their capacity to absorb carbon dioxide.

The World Bank thus hopes, thanks to these financial incentives, to encourage their preservation, without however managing to convince everyone.

According to a World Bank calculation, it has been established that Mozambique has reduced its carbon dioxide emissions to the tune of one million tonnes since 2019, thanks to forest protection projects in the province of Zambezia ( Zambézia, in Portuguese), in the center of the country.

Second possible payment of 40 million euros

Forests cover almost half of the country, but since the 1970s an area the size of Portugal has disappeared, mainly due to agricultural expansion.

Thanks to an agreement signed two years ago with the World Bank, a first payment of 5.5 million euros has thus been released.

A sum that should benefit more than three quarters to the communities of the region.

If the country continues its momentum and manages by 2024 to reduce its emissions by 10 million tonnes, this agreement provides for the payment of more than 40 million euros from the Carbon Fund.

Read also: Mozambique (Series 1/2): the fight against deforestation of the Gilé reserve

If Mozambique is the first country to receive such a payment in this context, on the continent, the DRC, Madagascar and the Republic of Congo have also signed similar agreements.

The device is however strongly criticized by researchers and environmentalists who denounce the lack of efficiency of the system, and especially the lack of consultation with local populations.

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• Mozambique

• Environment

• world Bank