A brand new carbon credit scheme that offers car rental customers in West Africa the chance to offset their carbon emissions has been officially rolled out across Ghana, Côte d’Ivoire, and Senegal.
The scheme, conceived by environmental consulting firm ecosur afrique on behalf of Volta Car Rental Services, is part of an initiative led by Investisseurs & Partenaires to offset emissions within its operations, as well as those that fall within its portfolio of investments.
“The exchange of carbon credits is traditionally based on their transfer from developing to industrialised countries,” said Fabrice Le Sache, CEO of ecosur afrique. “However, we’re convinced the future of this important market lies in south-south transactions. Investisseurs & Partenaires has proved instrumental in brokering the scheme, in which Volta Car Rental Services will pay around of €3-5 per tonne for its emissions.”
The new scheme is regarded as one of the first of its kind in terms of intra-African carbon trading and together with ecosur afrique, Volta Car Rental Services plans to use the scheme as a springboard for creating a fully carbon neutral programme where carbon offset by customers is aggregated on a quarterly basis. As part of the scheme, it will also disseminate cooking stoves that aim to reduce household emissions and improve health in local communities.
“We have developed a strong environmental strategy that places carbon emissions at the heart of our concerns and we’re pleased to offer our customers the opportunity to offset their carbon footprint,” said Thomas Crand, Founding Partner of Volta Car Rental Services. “This is a pioneering and unique choice in Africa and we hope it will set a new regional benchmark in the industry.”