Planting trees may seem like a pastime activity during community work (Umuganda) or other events, but the reality is that, it can now earn individuals and the government money, according to Rwanda Environment Management Authority (Rema).Through what is known as the carbon market, credits can be earned through reforesting a certain area, which credits can be sold to a major air polluter like a factory or an airline in order to offset their emissions by reinvesting in more tree planting projects.A carbon credit represents one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent avoided or removed from the environment and it sells for about one dollar on the carbon market."Currently, Rwanda has 23 carbon market projects registered with Rema. Among them, 18 have been granted letters of approval while six are registered at international level by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,” Dr Rose Mukankomeje, the director-general of Rema, said in an interview.Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that has been associated with earth’s destruction because of its adverse effects to the atmosphere.It is historical that when countries develop economically, their carbon emissions also rise, thus contributing to global warming. This is because they build more factories and transport systems that depend on fuel products.These carbon market projects, according to Mukankomeje, are in activities such as improved cooking stoves, water purification and clean energy generation projects like solar, biogas and hydro.Debate on how countries and companies can reduce the emission of dangerous gases has been going on over time, which gave birth to an agreement called the Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1995 and entered into force in 2005.The main goal of the Kyoto Protocol is to curb human activities that lead to the emission of greenhouse gases.It recognises that developed countries such as the US have contributed the most to the build-up of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is about 77 per cent of emissions between 1750 and 2004.Rwanda ratified the Kyoto Protocol in 2004. In September 2005, Rema established Designated National Authority (DNA) to coordinate the voluntary carbon market projects."Before any Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project is allowed to start its activities, it has to prove that it will contribute to Rwanda’s sustainable development in economic, environment and social aspects,” Dr Mukamkomeje said.Drastic reductionThrough these projects, Rwanda expects to reduce 460,019 tonnes of carbon dioxide annually and they are also propelled by forestation and avoiding the use of kerosene."In terms of economic development, the carbon market benefits Rwanda through new investments that lead to job creation, transfer of technology, reduce the cost of energy and also save money spent on charcoal, kerosene, diesel,” Dr Mukankomeje added.The Rema chief said the carbon market also offers opportunities for developers of environment friendly project to generate extra revenues while saving the environment."We have trained several people. I would like to encourage them to continue learning and invite anyone who is interested in developing an environment friendly project to visit our office or web site for advice on how to benefit from this opportunity,” she said."This is also another opportunity for Rwanda to pursue a green economy and achieve sustainable development embedded in Vision 2020 and the Second Economic Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (EDPRSII).”She said although significant progress has been made toward protecting the environment, Rwanda still heavily relies on natural resources, which brings harm to the environment.In order to solve this challenge, Dr Mukankomeje said, government integrated climate change issues into strategic planning and seeks to create off-farm activities that reduce the pressure on natural resources.Rwanda’s positionDuring his presentation to the Warsaw Climate Change Conference in November 2013, the Minister for Natural Resources, Stanislas Kamanzi, reiterated Rwanda’s ambitions to implement all the necessary requirements to curb climate change."Rwanda has taken a proactive approach in mainstreaming the Environment and Climate Change in our long term national development blueprint, the Vision 2020, which also provides for short and medium term strategies and specific actions towards achieving sustainable economic development,” Kamanzi said."Our most recent move in this connection is the operationalisation of the Fund for the Environment and Climate Change to facilitate the implementation of the national cross-sectoral green growth and climate resilience strategy.”Like the protocols, carbon credits and carbon markets are a component of national and international attempts to lessen the concentrations of greenhouse gases, albeit, with an extra element of making money from adopting more environment friendly measures.According to the World Bank, this carbon market can earn poor nations more than $25 billion annually.Kigali-based Fawe Girls serves as an example of a school community that has access to purified water by using clean technology without any carbon emissions – this can earn the school carbon credits.Through the carbon market, a developed country affected with high levels of emissions can sponsor a greenhouse gas reduction project in a developing country.The developed country would then be given carbon credits for meeting its emission reduction targets, while the developing country would receive the capital investment and clean technology or beneficial change in land use.