By Pendukeni Pandeni
As Namibia positions itself as a climate leader in Southern Africa, a new framework promises to transform carbon credits from international assets into government revenue while capturing billions of Namibian dollars from the global carbon market – all in full compliance with exchange control regulations.
THE OPPORTUNITY
Namibia sits atop a climate finance goldmine. The country’s abundant renewable energy resources, existing biomass-to-energy capacity, and vast forestry potential position it to generate hundreds of thousands of carbon credits annually.
These credits – tradeable on international markets like Verra, Gold Standard, and I-REC – are worth USD 14-16 per credit in today’s market.
Yet for decades, Namibia has captured zero government revenue from this asset. Credits generated from Namibian projects were issued, traded, and retired entirely through international platforms, with all value accruing to private developers and foreign carbon platforms. The government received nothing – no tax, no levy, no fee.
THE CHALLENGE
But capturing this revenue presents a unique challenge: Namibia’s exchange control regulations strictly govern the movement of foreign currency into and out of the country.
International carbon credits represent foreign exchange flows – developers receive payments in foreign currency (typically USD) for credits they export.
Under Namibia’s Exchange Control Regulations, these flows must be monitored and controlled to protect the country’s foreign exchange position.
Traditional carbon registry models sidestep this problem entirely by keeping all transactions in foreign currency outside Namibia.
International platforms like Verra and Gold Standard are registered in Switzerland and the United States, respectively. Credits are bought, sold, and retired on foreign platforms with no government oversight or revenue capture.
Namibia’s challenge is different: the government needs to develop a framework that captures sovereign revenue from carbon assets while remaining fully compliant with exchange control regulations.
This requires innovative architectural solutions that route carbon revenue through authorized channels, convert foreign currency at official rates, and deposit funds into domestic state-owned current accounts or sovereign funds accounts.
* Pendukeni Pandeni Banker, Strategist, Researcher and Designer & BCom Law Student
