Madagascar's carbon credit system offers a blueprint for other poor countries

Madagascar created a national system to issue carbon credits, allowing projects to continue earning money after an older international system ended. This new system, called the Cadre National de Crédits (CNC), uses a standardized approach that other countries can copy.

Many carbon credit projects in developing countries lost their ability to generate income when the UN's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) expired. This meant a sudden loss of revenue for projects that relied on selling carbon offsets. Madagascar's new system provides a way for these projects to keep going, and it offers a clear path for other nations to set up their own carbon markets, especially as new international rules under the Paris Agreement (Article 6) come into play.