Liberia: National Carbon Market Policy Validated, Sets Regulatory Framework

• Liberia's President Joseph Nyuma Boakai received the national consolidated and validated National Carbon Market Policy on Tuesday, September 1.
• The policy aims to generate national wealth, protect forests, and attract investment by regulating Liberia's participation in the global carbon economy.
• Executive Order No. 155, issued in October 2025, established the Carbon Markets Authority, National Carbon Registry, and Liberia Carbon Investment Fund.
• Liberia possesses approximately 6.6 million hectares of forest, covering about 69% of its landmass, highlighting its significant carbon potential.
• The policy seeks to address historical challenges like uncertain carbon rights and benefit-sharing, while learning from past controversies such as the 2023 Blue Carbon arrangement.

For lawyers and compliance officers, a meticulous review of this policy is indispensable for advising clients on potential investments, ensuring regulatory adherence, and mitigating risks, especially those related to land tenure and community rights.

Liberia has taken a significant step towards leveraging its vast natural resources for economic development and climate action with the validation of its National Carbon Market Policy. On Tuesday, September 1, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai officially received this consolidated policy document, which aims to establish a robust regulatory framework for the country's participation in the global carbon economy. The policy was presented by key figures including Carbon Markets Authority CEO Jeanine Cooper, Forestry Development Authority Managing Director Rudolph Merab, and Environmental Protection Agency Executive Director Dr. Emmanuel K. Urey Yarkpawolo, signaling a unified governmental approach to this emerging sector.

This pivotal policy is designed to transform Liberia's extensive forests and other carbon-rich ecosystems into a sustainable source of international climate finance. At its core, the initiative seeks to build a carbon market capable of generating national wealth, safeguarding critical forest ecosystems, and attracting foreign investment. However, the government faces the critical challenge of achieving these goals without replicating past controversies related to land tenure, resource governance, and community rights that have previously plagued carbon trading efforts within the nation. A carbon credit, the fundamental unit of this market, represents a verified reduction or removal of one metric ton of carbon dioxide equivalent, which countries, companies, and other institutions can purchase to fulfill their climate commitments.

The development of the Liberia National Carbon Market Policy represents the culmination of several years of dedicated effort to transition Liberia from a country with immense forest-carbon potential to one equipped with a comprehensive institutional framework for market participation. This journey included significant preparatory steps, such as the government's signing of a Letter of Engagement with the Coalition for Rainforest Nations in September 2024, aimed at strengthening Liberia's role in the global carbon market. This was followed by a National Carbon Dialogue convened in Ganta, Nimba County, in August 2025, which brought together diverse stakeholders to discuss crucial aspects like carbon ownership, benefit sharing, institutional arrangements, market mechanisms, grievance redress, and financial management.

A cornerstone of this new framework is Executive Order No. 155, issued by President Boakai in October 2025. This executive order formally established the Carbon Markets Authority, a dedicated body to oversee the sector, alongside a National Carbon Registry for tracking credits and a Liberia Carbon Investment Fund to manage revenues. These structures are intended to address long-standing gaps identified by the World Bank, including uncertainties surrounding Liberia carbon rights law, mechanisms for benefit-sharing, and clear rules governing international sales of emission reductions. The policy, therefore, provides the much-needed Liberia carbon credit regulations to bring clarity and structure to these complex areas.

Liberia possesses approximately 6.6 million hectares of forest, covering about 69 percent of its landmass, according to UNDP data, making its natural assets a significant draw for the carbon market. These forests are not only vital for carbon sequestration but are also managed and depended upon by Indigenous peoples, local communities, and smallholder forest communities. The World Bank has consistently recognized the substantial potential for carbon markets and climate-finance benefit sharing as integral to Liberia's broader development strategy. However, the country's experience underscores that carbon is more than just an environmental commodity; it deeply intertwines with issues of land, ownership, financial resources, power dynamics, and the future well-being of forest-dependent communities.

The nation's engagement with carbon markets predates the current administration, with years of participation in international efforts to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation under REDD+. At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, then-President George Manneh Weah highlighted Liberia's forests as a critical climate asset and advocated for an African carbon-credit trading mechanism. The World Bank further facilitated discussions on these topics by hosting a Forest and Climate Resilience Forum in Liberia in 2023, focusing on carbon markets, forestry, land tenure, benefit sharing, and the overall Liberia climate finance framework. Yet, a significant cautionary episode remains the 2023 controversial arrangement between the previous government and Dubai-based Blue Carbon, involving approximately 2.5 million, which serves as a stark reminder of the complexities and potential pitfalls in this sector.

The newly validated Liberia National Carbon Market Policy is a critical document for all stakeholders, particularly those in legal and compliance roles, as it lays out the foundational principles for engagement in Liberia's emerging carbon economy. It provides the institutional framework, outlines regulatory requirements, and details the benefit-sharing mechanisms that will govern carbon credit projects across the nation. For lawyers and compliance officers, a meticulous review of this policy is indispensable for advising clients on potential investments, ensuring regulatory adherence, and mitigating risks, especially those related to land tenure and community rights.

This policy is not merely a technical document; it represents Liberia's strategic commitment to harnessing its natural capital for sustainable development while addressing global climate change. By establishing clear rules and structures, the government aims to attract responsible investment, protect its invaluable forest resources, and ensure that the benefits of carbon trading are equitably distributed among its citizens, thereby avoiding the controversies of the past and fostering a more transparent and accountable carbon market.

Lawyers and compliance officers should meticulously review Liberia's newly validated National Carbon Market Policy to understand the institutional framework, regulatory requirements, and benefit-sharing mechanisms for carbon credit projects. This is crucial for advising clients on investment, compliance, and mitigating risks related to land tenure and community rights in the emerging Liberian carbon economy.

Source: Original reporting via FrontPageAfrica