The Global Carbon Council (GCC)—the Global South’s first internationally accredited carbon market program, approved under the ICAO CORSIA scheme and recognized by ICROA—has signed a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with the Ministry of Environment, Water and Sanitation of Burkina Faso (MEEA)  to operationalize the country’s national carbon market infrastructure under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. The West African Alliance for Carbon Markets and Climate Finance (WAA) will provide technical and capacity-building support to ensure effective implementation.

The agreement was signed during COP30 by Dr. Yousef Alhorr, Founding Chairman of the Global Carbon Council, and Roger Baro, Minister of Environment, Water and Sanitation of Burkina Faso, reflecting a shared commitment to advancing high-integrity carbon markets, enhancing climate action, and mobilizing results-based climate finance.

This partnership will enable Burkina Faso to establish a sovereign, transparent, and interoperable national registry for carbon credits, with support from WAA to ensure effective operationalization and capacity building for key stakeholders. The initiative leverages GCC’s innovative Article 6.2 Carbon Market Infrastructure (CMI), which includes:

• Project Registration Module (PRM) – for registration and validation of mitigation projects.
• Transaction Registry Module (TRM) – for secure transfer and tracking of carbon credits.
• National Registry Module (NRM) – a white-label platform customized for Burkina Faso to manage mitigation outcomes (MOs) and ensure compliance with Article 6.2 reporting requirements.

The collaboration positions Burkina Faso to catalyze climate action and access results-based finance through bilateral and unilateral Internationally Transferred Mitigation Outcome (ITMO) transactions. GCC will provide technical and operational support, WAA will assist with country-specific capacity building and policy framework development, and together they will ensure the integrity, transparency, and credibility of Burkina Faso’s carbon market.

Speaking at the signing, Dr. Yousef Alhorr said:

“We are proud to support Burkina Faso in building a high-integrity, fully interoperable national carbon registry. This partnership, strengthened by WAA’s regional expertise, demonstrates GCC’s ongoing commitment to enable countries in the Global South to participate in international carbon markets with confidence, transparency, and credibility. By combining innovative technology with local capacity building, we aim to empower Burkina Faso to manage its carbon market effectively, attract results-based climate finance, and accelerate sustainable development initiatives that benefit communities across the country."

Minister Roger Baro highlighted the significance for Burkina Faso, saying:

“With the expertise of GCC and the support of WAA, Burkina Faso is taking a decisive step toward operationalizing its Article 6.2 carbon market. This initiative will not only strengthen our climate governance and institutional frameworks but also enable us to mobilize innovative climate finance and deliver tangible results for our Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). We are committed to ensuring that this platform is a transparent, accountable, and effective tool to drive meaningful emission reductions while fostering sustainable development and resilience for our people."

The MoA marks a major step forward for Burkina Faso’s climate strategy and reflects the growing momentum of Article 6.2 implementation in the region. GCC’s platform already supports over 1,590 project submissions from more than 50 countries, with the potential to issue approximately 2.5 billion carbon credits by 2032.