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This is a sample of a cookstove that has been certified by the testing labaratory installed at Rwanda Standards Board on August 19, 2021 (Photo by The New Times?)
Rwanda is stepping into the global carbon credit market in a smart and structured way.
By turning its climate-friendly actions into something that can be sold, government hopes to bring in new income and support green development across the country.
This is more than an environmental story—it’s about how Rwanda is finding new ways to grow its economy while also protecting the planet.
What Are Carbon Credits?
To understand what Rwanda is doing, it helps to know what carbon credits are.
Every time we burn things like wood, coal, or petrol, we release carbon dioxide (CO₂) into the air. This gas contributes to global warming.
But if a country or company finds a way to reduce or avoid releasing carbon—like by planting trees or using clean cooking methods—they can earn “carbon credits.”
These credits can then be sold to others who are still releasing a lot of carbon.
Think of it like this: if one country pollutes less than expected, it earns points (credits), and another country or company that’s struggling to cut pollution can buy those points to help meet their own environmental goals.
That’s what Rwanda is getting into.
Rwanda’s Plan to Join the Market
In 2023, government launched a National Carbon Market Framework—a formal plan to guide how the country can produce and sell carbon credits.
The goal is to reduce about 7.5 million tonnes of carbon emissions by 2030. That’s like stopping the pollution from over 1.6 million gas-powered cars for a year.
As of last year, the country had over 330,000 vehicles, the vast majority of them using fuel like petrol and diesel, which bellow out lots of dirty fumes.
Put simply, it’s like removing every single vehicle in Rwanda from the road for nearly five years.
Of course, government isn’t planning to actually remove cars from the roads for five years. This comparison is just to help visualize the scale of the country’s climate ambition.
The emissions will be reduced through a wide range of projects—like using clean cookstoves, planting trees, switching to renewable energy, and making farming more climate-friendly.
To reach this goal, Rwanda will need around $11 billion, and about $6.9 billion of that is expected to come from international sources—including through carbon credits.
This means Rwanda can earn money by doing green projects like providing clean cookstoves, planting more trees, using solar energy, and encouraging climate-smart farming.
These projects help the environment but also create carbon credits that Rwanda can sell to other countries or companies.
Cookstoves: A Simple Technology with Big Benefits
YSLA Rwanda, a social enterprise that makes, promotes and distributes improved cookstoves in Rwanda to reduce deforestation and improve health.
Many households in rural Rwanda still cook using firewood or charcoal. This method is not only time-consuming and polluting, but it also contributes to deforestation.
Clean cookstoves, on the other hand, use less fuel and produce far less smoke.
They are affordable, easy to use, and have immediate health benefits—particularly for families living in small, poorly ventilated homes.
These stoves are also carbon-saving machines. By burning fuel more efficiently, they reduce emissions and earn Rwanda carbon credits—turning everyday cooking into a tool for national development.
A Landmark Deal with Singapore
A major development came in May 2025, when Rwanda signed a landmark carbon market agreement with the Government of Singapore and climate technology company Spore Initiative, based in Singapore.
The agreement was signed by Rwanda’s Environment Minister Dr. Valentine Uwamariya and Singapore’s Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Ms. Grace Fu Hai Yien.
This deal is a milestone not just for Rwanda, but for international cooperation on climate finance.
At the heart of the agreement is a project to deploy fuel-efficient cookstoves across rural Rwanda. These stoves drastically reduce the need for firewood—curbing deforestation and improving indoor air quality.
Since women and children are most exposed to smoke from traditional stoves, the health benefits are significant.
For every tonne of carbon dioxide emissions avoided through this project, a carbon credit will be issued.
Spore will then sell these credits on the international market to corporations seeking to reduce their climate footprints.
While financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, similar carbon credit deals suggest prices of around US$10 to $12 per credit.
If scaled as planned, the project could generate hundreds of millions of dollars over its lifespan. Rwanda has committed to reinvesting that revenue into more environmental and social development programs.
This was developed by CO2balance, a UK-based “profit-for-purpose” consultancy and project for Rwanda. It has given out 85,502 cookstoves. Last year, it celebrated a milestone: certifying the avoidance of 163,563 tonnes of CO2e! This reduction is equivalent to the annual carbon emissions of 34,800 people in the UK
How It All Works
To make sure everything is clear and fair, Rwanda has created new systems to track, measure, and report emissions reductions.
The Rwanda Environment Management Authority (REMA) is in charge of checking which projects are eligible and how much carbon they actually reduce.
Rwanda is also using international rules from the Paris Agreement—especially Article 6, which allows countries to trade emissions credits with each other.
By following these global rules, Rwanda makes sure that its carbon credits are trusted and respected by international buyers.
In August 2021, Rwanda set up a cookstove testing laboratory at the Rwanda Standards Board. This lab is like a special kitchen where experts test different types of cookstoves to see how well they work.
They check things like how much fuel the stove uses, how much smoke it produces, and how safe it is to use.
World Bank backing
According to the World Bank’s State and Trends of Carbon Pricing 2025 report released this week, Rwanda is one of several low-income countries showing early success in accessing the voluntary carbon market (VCM).
These markets are not government-mandated but are driven by private companies buying carbon credits to offset their own emissions and improve their sustainability image.
The World Bank report emphasizes the growing role of countries like Rwanda, which are using clean cookstove projects and nature-based solutions to generate trusted, high-integrity credits.
These projects are now in high demand from international corporations that want to support credible climate action in the Global South.
The Benefits
Carbon markets are growing fast. More and more companies around the world want to reduce their pollution. But instead of cutting everything on their own, they prefer to buy carbon credits from countries like Rwanda that are already doing the work.
This gives Rwanda a big opportunity. Not only does it get help in fighting climate change, but it also earns foreign income, creates green jobs, and attracts investment in clean technologies.
If Rwanda continues to build trust in its carbon credit system and focuses on high-quality projects, it could earn millions of dollars each year by simply doing what it already plans to do: protect the environment and improve people’s lives.
What’s Next
Rwanda is also taking steps to ensure the benefits reach local communities. Carbon finance will be tied to job creation, technology access, and better service delivery. At the same time, the government is cautious about overpromising and has committed to issuing only high-integrity credits.
Looking ahead, Rwanda plans to expand its carbon credit portfolio to cover: Reforestation and agroforestry; Sustainable transport; Waste-to-energy systems; and Off-grid solar and mini-grids
All of this will be monitored through a national platform, with legal backing and international certification under the Paris Agreement.
