Could carbon credits be Africa’s next big export?

In her smallKOKOATMKOKOKOKOCEO house in Nairobi, Kenya’s capital, Rose Muthoni shows off her snazzy blue stove. Until recently she was one of the roughly 80% of sub-Saharan Africans who use firewood or charcoal for cooking. When burned, these forms of biomass release greenhouse gases and unhealthy pollutants; Ms Muthoni thinks charcoal contributed to the death of one of her children. Her new stove, made by , a Kenyan startup, uses bioethanol—a cleaner and safer fuel.“It is very economical,” adds Ms Muthoni. She spends about 600 Kenyan shillings ($4) per month refilling canisters at “fuel s” in shops, less than half of what she paid for charcoal. The price is the result of a virtuous cycle. Since its products reduce carbon emissions, is able to generate credits that can be sold on global carbon markets. The proceeds are ploughed back into the firm, lowering retail prices for stoves and fuel. Four years after launching, is used by more than one-third of households in Nairobi. “We’re a novel type of energy utility,” argues Greg Murray, its , “where carbon provides the subsidy instead of public funds.”