Green Economy and Climate Change (Carbon Market) Regulations, 2026.

These Regulations, comprising 31 Sections, establish a comprehensive regulatory framework governing participation in carbon markets in Zambia. The framework is designed to ensure that carbon credit generation and trading support the country’s climate and development objectives through the following key measures (i) Establishment of rules for carbon trading (Section 12): The Regulations set out procedures for project development, validation, and the issuance and transfer of carbon credits under both cooperative approaches of the Paris Agreement and the voluntary carbon market; (ii) Ensuring environmental integrity (Section 4): The framework requires that emission reductions be additional, measurable, and verifiable, and that they rely on robust accounting systems to prevent double counting, including through the use of corresponding adjustments; (iii) Raising mitigation ambition (Section 4): By leveraging the cost efficiencies of emissions trading, the Regulations aim to stimulate additional mitigation activities and support Zambia in meeting and potentially exceeding its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under international climate agreements; (iv) Promotion of sustainable development and transformational change: Carbon market activities must contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and foster transformational change through sustained progress toward a low-carbon economy; (v) Benefit sharing with communities (Section 22): The Regulations require that local communities and individuals involved in carbon projects receive a fair share of project revenues and benefits, including through formal community development and benefit-sharing agreements; (vi) Registry and oversight (Section 27): The framework establishes a National Carbon Registry to manage the issuance and tracking of carbon credits and provides for a Technical Committee responsible for evaluating and approving project proposals.
Section 5 establishes the categories of projects that are ineligible for carbon credit generation. Specifically, it excludes (i) projects that result in the lock-in of fossil fuel technologies; (ii) projects aimed at reducing hydrofluorocarbon-23 or adipic acid–related nitrous oxide emissions; (iii) nuclear power projects; (iv) large-scale grid-connected hydropower projects with a capacity exceeding 20 megawatts.
The Regulations assign implementation and oversight responsibilities to several institutions (i) the Ministry of Green Economy and Environment and the Director of Green Economy and Climate Change handle administration, approvals, and authorisations for carbon credit trading; (ii) technical oversight is led by the Zambia Environmental Management Agency (ZEMA), which manages the National Carbon Registry, conducts quality assurance and inspections, and issues environmental approvals; (iii) project evaluation and verification are carried out by the Technical Committee and accredited Verifiers.