Carbon pricing approaches in Eastern and Southern Africa

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Increasing international industrial greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and the degradation of carbon sinks have, in recent years, contributed to scientific certainty around climate change, particularly mitigation, as a global concern. Numerous resources have shown that developing and least developed countries (LDCs) are the most vulnerable to the anticipated impacts of climate change, even though such countries typically have small to immaterial sources of GHG emissions. Subsequently, with pollution and climate change being a classic problem of environmental externality, there is a substantial need for governments to take corrective action in this regard. Given the seriousness of these problems, it is critical that governments address the drivers of anthropogenic climate change, including through the implementation of policy instruments that exploit, in a least-cost manner, various behavioural and economic responses that can contribute to the alleviation of such impacts. Carbon Pricing is one such policy instrument that has been used, in various jurisdictions, to help mitigate GHG emissions and support adaptation efforts.