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By Monica MUEMA
The organisers of the upcoming Carbon Markets Africa Summit have announced the diamond sponsorship of TASC, the award-winning and pioneering carbon finance project developer with a proven track record of innovative climate mitigating techniques and investing in local communities.
Taking place in Johannesburg from 22 to 23 October, Carbon Markets Africa Summit will gather the continent’s entire carbon markets value chain, from successful early carbon market movers, climate-finance-ready projects and regulatory bodies to global institutional development organisations and investors.
High-impact carbon projects at scale
“At its core, TASC is community-driven and we believe in delivering real-world social and environmental impact rooted in rigorous carbon science,” says Shelley Estcourt, TASC’s CEO for Africa.
She adds: “We focus on delivering high-integrity, high-impact carbon projects at scale.
Historically, we have been focused on cookstoves, but our GRASS* project is a testament to our ability to diversify quite significantly. Backed by a dedicated in-house R&D team, we are constantly innovating and exploring new methodologies, platforms, and country partnerships. We have a big focus on projects that deliver impact at scale, combined with sound carbon modelling and science.”
* Grassland Restoration and Stewardship in South Africa
TASC is currently active across sub-Saharan Africa and Australia, with expansion plans into other parts of Africa and the Australasian region. Their focus is on jurisdictions with advanced Article 6 carbon market frameworks, where the enabling environment allows for long-term, scalable impact.
950,000 cookstoves distributed
In 2023, TASC won the Environmental Finance Voluntary Carbon Market Award for its cookstove project. “The award and the associated finance mechanism via Standard Bank were instrumental,” says Estcourt.
“It enabled us to repay early-stage funding and significantly expand the scope of the programme. To date, we’ve distributed clean cookstoves to over 950,000 households across rural South Africa, with benefits for both community health and carbon reductions.”
Reversing effects of climate change
TASC’s GRASS project directly tackles the consequences of climate change by restoring degraded rangelands, boosting carbon sequestration, and building long-term resilience for rural communities.
Escourt: “Climate change has significantly reduced the adaptive capacity of farmers, which sees them to increased drought vulnerability, erosion, bare soils, and more extreme weather impacts.
GRASS helps reverse these effects by improving water-holding capacity, stabilising soil temperatures, reducing erosion, and increasing biodiversity across hundreds of thousands of hectares.”
GRASS is also the world’s first project registered under Verra’s VM0042 methodology, enabling robust monitoring and the generation of certified carbon credits.
Important opportunity
As the diamond sponsor of the inaugural Carbon Markets Africa Summit in Johannesburg from 22–23 October, TASC is excited to be part of what Estcourt describes as “an important opportunity to bring thought leaders, developers, policymakers, and buyers into one room.
It’s a platform to hopefully accelerate Article 6 readiness, deepen understanding of what high-impact projects look like on the ground, and promote stronger collaboration across the continent.”
She continues: “For buyers, this is your chance to meet developers face-to-face, ask the hard questions, and build real trust in the market. Come and listen to the passion.”