Zimbabwe has launched a fierce defence of its carbon market ambitions after a UN aviation ruling and a controversial move by certification body Gold Standard threatened to strip millions of African carbon credits of access to the lucrative global aviation market.
At the centre of the dispute are more than 2.5 million carbon credits generated from Zimbabwean clean cookstove projects that were expected to qualify under the UN-backed aviation offsetting scheme, International Civil Aviation Organization’s (ICAO) CORSIA programme. Zimbabwe says the decision could wipe out more than $25 million in premium market value and undermine Africa’s push to capture a larger share of global climate finance.
Harare has accused international institutions of moving the goalposts after African countries invested heavily in building Paris Agreement-compliant carbon infrastructure.
“This is a direct attack on Africa’s development aspirations,” Zimbabwe’s Ministry of Environment said in a strongly worded statement issued on May 8, rejecting claims that the credits are not eligible for CORSIA.
The controversy follows a recent decision by the ICAO Council introducing what is known as a “continuous maintenance” rule tied to national carbon registries. The move reportedly created a technical conflict affecting Zimbabwe’s Article 6 carbon accounting framework and prompted Gold Standard to suspend CORSIA labelling for the credits despite them already being issued within its own registry system.
The affected credits originate from cookstove projects developed under Zimbabwe’s groundbreaking Article 6 framework. In 2025, the country became the first in Africa to issue corresponding adjustment-backed credits under the Paris Agreement through a project developed by Cicada Carbon. More than 1.5 million credits had already been issued, with another one million awaiting approval.
The projects were widely viewed as a breakthrough for Africa’s participation in compliance carbon markets because they combined clean cooking access with UN-compliant emissions accounting. Airlines covered under CORSIA are required to offset emissions growth above 2019 levels using approved carbon credits, making the aviation sector one of the world’s fastest-growing sources of carbon credit demand.
Analysts estimate the scheme will require between 100 million and 150 million credits during the 2024-2026 phase alone, with demand expected to surge to as much as 1.6 billion credits by 2035.
Without the CORSIA label, however, Zimbabwe’s credits risk being pushed out of the premium aviation market and sold at sharply lower voluntary market prices. Officials warn that communities, developers and conservation partners who invested in the projects expecting compliance-grade revenues now face major financial uncertainty.
The dispute is also exposing deeper tensions over who controls the rules governing the future of global carbon markets.
Zimbabwe argues that sovereign governments implementing Article 6 systems should not be overruled by private international registries or shifting technical interpretations. Officials have warned that allowing “private foreign organisations” to effectively invalidate nationally authorised credits risks undermining trust in the entire Paris Agreement framework.
The fallout could extend far beyond Zimbabwe.
Countries including Kenya have also invested in national carbon registries and are positioning themselves to supply CORSIA markets as Africa races to become a major player in global carbon trading. Industry observers warn that prolonged uncertainty around eligibility rules could discourage investment across the continent at a time when African governments are banking on carbon finance to fund energy access, conservation and climate resilience.
The standoff is now threatening to evolve into a broader legal and diplomatic battle.
Developers, traders and government agencies are reportedly assessing potential legal action if the impasse is not resolved, arguing that foreseeable regulatory changes have already caused significant financial harm. A court ruling forcing relabelling could restore access to aviation markets but may also expose weaknesses in the governance architecture underpinning international carbon registries.
For now, Zimbabwe says it remains committed to negotiations but insists it will not back down.
“This is about fairness, sovereignty and Africa’s right to participate fully in global climate finance,” officials said, as pressure mounts on regulators and certification bodies to find a solution before confidence in CORSIA’s African pipeline begins to unravel.
