By Linda Kwanjana

Malawi President Dr Lazarus Chakwera has called on Malawians to enhance the culture of green economy.

Chakwera was speaking in Lilongwe during the launch of Malawi Carbon Market Initiative at the Botanical Garden in Lilongwe.

Chakwera reminded Malawians that four months ago, in his State of the Nation Address, he mentioned that his administration was going to pursue carbon markets through the partnership that have already been established with the African Carbon Markets Initiative for the scaling up of carbon credit production.

He said, with the launch of Malawi’s own Carbon Markets Initiative, the Government was fulfilling that promise and positioning the country for prosperity as a green economy.

Said Chakwera: “As a nation, we have every reason to prefer a green economy over an economy that degrades and destroys the environment. To begin with, we know first hand the devastating effects of degrading the environment, because we have just come out of a state of national disaster from Cyclone Freddy in the southern region and a crop-destroying drought in the northern region.”

Chakwera added: “Building a green economy is consistent with the aspirations of the Malawi2063 Vision, which calls for serious commitment to Environmental Sustainability; Ecosystem Conservation ,
Environmental Management and Waste Management.”

For the starters this ambitious undertaking seeks to implement effective carbon measurement mechanisms and provide financial incentives to individuals, firms, and nations, thereby encouraging widespread participation in the global effort to combat climate change.

At the heart of this initiative lies the concept of carbon financing, which involves the trading of carbon quotas between countries.

By facilitating the exchange of quotas, countries that generate lower levels of carbon emissions can benefit from the sale of their excess quotas to larger emitters.

This approach provides a mechanism for the latter to offset their carbon footprint while simultaneously supporting global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and mitigate the impact of climate change.