DR Congo signs carbon credit deal covering Congo basin

The Democratic Republic of Congo has signed an agreement with a US company for a carbon credit deal covering the Congo Basin rainforest and peatlands.

dClimate, a "climate information and data infrastructure" company, said it will support DR Congo to preserve the Basin by reducing deforestation. The deal is aimed at preserving more than 100 million tonnes of carbon dioxide in the forest.

In recent years, environmentalists have raised alarm over the depletion of thousands of acres in the Congo Basin through deforestation.

As the second-largest rainforest in the world, it absorbs over 1.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually. Experts say preserving the Congo Basin is integral in global efforts to slow climate change and maintain biodiversity.

dClimate said it will also help the central African country to develop a carbon registry - a system through which the government will track and sell credits.

"dClimate will lease the carbon sequestration rights for an initial 10-year period but will not lease or buy the land, thus preserving the national sovereignty and the rights of local communities," the company said on Tuesday, following the signing of the agreement at the UN COP28 climate summit in Dubai.

The credits produced during the decade-long partnership will be worth an estimated $1bn, dClimate's co-founder Siddhartha Jha told Bloomberg.

dClimate will retain 10% to 20% of generated revenue.

To successfully generate credits, the project will need to prove that the basin can reduce emissions.

The Congo basin absorbs over 1.5 billion tonnes of CO₂ annually according to the UN's environmental body, making it one of the world's most important carbon sinks.

Most of the basin is situated in DR Congo and the rest extends to five other countries.