Djibouti is tapping into a carbon emissions fund to solve challenges attributed to climate change, offering a model for other cash-strapped countries on the continent amid dwindling international aid.
The Horn of Africa nation — a major shipping hub that hosts the largest permanent US military base on the continent — created a Sovereign Carbon Initiative in 2023 to help reduce national greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030. Djibouti has financed around 80 projects from the carbon fund, according to the UK’s Independent newspaper, citing the African nation’s data.
One project over the past year was the supply of water trucks and solar-powered desalination units to the country’s northern Tadjourah region, where poor rains had threatened to displace thousands of residents in urgent need of water.