Carbon Markets Can Help Developing Nations Turn Ambition into Action

Local farmer ploughing a field in Indonesia.

The UN climate talks at COP30 once again brought the critical issue of climate finance to the forefront of global discussions.

While much of the debate revolved around traditional forms of aid for developing countries most vulnerable to climate change, a faster, more transformative approach lies in expanding access to carbon markets.

When emerging and developing economies (EMDEs) are equipped with the tools and knowledge to engage in these markets on their own terms, carbon finance can be generated and harnessed in ways that reflect their natural assets, governance, social contexts, and national priorities.

Achieving global climate and sustainable development goals depends on ensuring that those worst affected by climate change can fully participate in and benefit from this growing flow of finance.

EMDEs are on the frontlines of climate change — from rising sea levels threatening Pacific island nations to intensifying droughts and fires in the Amazon and Horn of Africa, and increasingly intense hurricanes in the Caribbean. These crises often hit hardest in regions that have contributed least to global emissions and are least equipped to respond.

Yet, these nations face a climate finance shortfall of $1.3 trillion per year. Carbon markets present an opportunity to bridge this gap by turning natural advantages into climate finance assets.

Despite successful initiatives to bolster both high-integrity supply and demand for carbon credits, significant barriers to access persist, particularly for EMDEs. Fragmented policy landscapes, weak governance, limited institutional capacity, and low investor confidence prevent these countries from engaging fully.

The Access Strategies Program — led by the Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative — is a direct response to these challenges. It helps governments design and implement pathways into high-integrity carbon markets, building policies, institutional capacity, and investor confidence to meet climate finance needs.

Each country’s natural capital — from Brazil’s vast rainforests to the Caribbean’s blue carbon ecosystems or Kenya’s grasslands and renewable energy potential — represents a unique competitive advantage, ready to be realised.

No two countries share the same development goals or governance contexts. In some, carbon markets drive forest conservation and biodiversity protection; in others, they strengthen rural livelihoods or finance clean energy transitions.

The Access Strategies model tailors support to help countries use carbon finance in ways aligned with national economic and environmental goals. For example, the Partnership for Agricultural Carbon (PAC) builds capacity across Latin American and Caribbean agriculture ministries, providing training, policy guidance, and tools to identify viable carbon projects.

This collaboration has given small and medium producers a clearer route to investment, positioning agriculture as a central player in regional climate strategies. The recently launched Amazon Best Practices Guide helps Amazon state governments design carbon market frameworks suited to their ecological and governance realities.

In countries such as Kenya, Peru, and Benin, the program has helped develop policy and regulatory frameworks, strengthen institutional capacity, and attract responsible investment for priority climate mitigation projects — all aligned with country-led goals.

These examples show what’s possible when governments have the tools and expertise to engage in high-integrity carbon markets on their own terms. More countries should seize this opportunity to tap into the growing flow of carbon finance.

While carbon markets are not a silver bullet, they are one of the few scalable and self-sustaining tools available when grounded in integrity and tailored to each country’s needs.

Programs like Access Strategies do more than transfer technical knowledge — they build the enabling conditions for locally led action, drawing on countries’ unique ecological, social, and institutional insights.

Global climate action should focus not only on new funding pledges but on ensuring that existing funds are effectively redirected for EMDEs to harness natural capital, promote social inclusion, and meet climate goals.

Building this capacity is how we turn global ambition into lasting, locally owned progress, and how carbon finance can become a true instrument of sustainable development.

Ana Carolina Avzaradel Szklo, Technical Director, Markets and Standards, Voluntary Carbon Markets Integrity Initiative (VCMI)