Press Release for SITEI 2022
CSR-in-Action Organises 14th SITEI Conference: SITEI 2025; From Emissions to Assets: Carbon Accounting, Trading and Offsetting in Africa’s Extractive Sector
CSR-in-Action has successfully concluded the 14th Sustainability in the Extractive Industry (SITEI) Conference, bringing together leading voices across government, industry, finance and civil society to address a very important priority for Africa today: how to convert emissions into economic value through credible carbon accounting, high-integrity credit generation and extractive-sector transformation.
This year’s Conference, themed “From Emissions to Assets: Carbon Accounting, Trading and Offsetting in Africa’s Extractive Sector,” gathered hundreds of attendees across the extractive industries, academia, community institutions and other organisations. The conference explored Africa’s rising role in the global carbon economy and highlighted the structural, technological and financial pathways required for Nigeria and Africa at large to unlock climate finance at scale.
The 14th edition featured a distinguished line-up of experts, including Dr Bekeme Masade-Olowola, Chief Executive, CSR-in-Action; Chigozie Ejimogu, Sustainability Manager at Verod Capital Management; Femi Oye, Chief Executive Officer KIKE AI and Ms Esther Essien, Deputy Director in the Strategy and Innovation Management Department, among others.
Speaking during her keynote address, Dr Bekeme Masade-Olowola, Chief Executive of CSR-in-Action, emphasised Africa’s relevance within the global climate marketplace. She drew from insights at COP30 in Belém, Brazil, and noted that Africa could generate an estimated 300 million tonnes of carbon credits annually by 2030. This creates a potential of over USD 6 billion market and over 30 million new jobs in clean energy, nature-based solutions and sustainable industrial processes.
According to Dr Olowola:
“Africa is no longer a passive participant in the climate conversation. Our natural capital, demographic strength and emerging carbon frameworks place us at the heart of global investment attention. However, value creation depends entirely on transparency, integrity and credible measurement. SITEI 2025 reinforces our commitment to helping African institutions build the systems required to participate competitively in the carbon economy.”
Dr Olowola also introduced FuelTree, a technology-enabled carbon project ecosystem integrating AI-driven MRV systems, telemetry, and a Virtual Cylinder Recirculation Model (VCRM) for clean-cooking transitions, designed to align African carbon projects with Article 6 standards.
Chairing the discussions, Moderator Chigozie Ejimogu underscored the urgent need for extractive companies to shift from simple emissions reporting to value-driven carbon management, noting that investors increasingly prioritise organisations with transparent decarbonisation strategies backed by verifiable data.
During Session One, Mr Femi Oye provided a comprehensive breakdown of carbon markets and positioned clean cooking as one of Africa’s most underutilised carbon opportunities. He mentioned that over 95,000 annual deaths in Nigeria occur from indoor air pollution and urged stakeholders to leverage technology-enabled LPG adoption for measurable emissions reductions, community improvement and market-ready carbon credits.
Mr Oye also highlighted Nigeria’s significant methane and flare-gas losses, citing more than 200 billion cubic feet of gas flared in 2024, a waste representing over USD 300 million in lost economic value.
Session Two featured Ms Esther Essien, who detailed the rapidly expanding opportunities for carbon credit generation within the extractive sector. She identified methane capture, flare reduction, industrial energy efficiency, renewable energy integration, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and nature-based solutions as the most commercially valuable and scalable options for Nigeria.
According to Ms Essien:
“Methane reduction presents the highest-value carbon credits in today’s market and delivers the fastest return on investment. With the right policy and MRV systems, Nigeria can position extractives as a core engine for climate-finance mobilisation.”
In the closing remarks, CSR-in-Action emphasised that the extractive sector remains central to Nigeria’s economic future, and therefore must lead the continent’s transition into high-integrity carbon credit development. The organisation reaffirmed its commitment to building robust systems, strengthening community-integrated approaches and championing Africa-designed solutions.
The Conference concluded with a call for sustained collaboration among government, private sector, financiers, regulators and host communities to ensure that Africa not only participates in but leads the evolution of global carbon markets.
About CSR-in-Action
CSR-in-Action is West Africa’s foremost consultancy for sustainable development, corporate governance and responsible business practices. Through its advisory, advocacy and training subsidiaries, the organisation works with institutions across sectors to drive systemic change, strengthen community outcomes and support high-impact environmental and social governance implementation.
CSR-in-Action Advocacy, a non-profit arm of the Group, is a pioneering member of the UNFCCC NWP private sector constituency in Nigeria and holds Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC). CSR-in-Action is the convener of the Sustainability in the Extractive Industry (SITEI) Conference, widely regarded as the most influential multi-stakeholder dialogue platform for the mining, oil and gas sectors in West Africa.
For more information, visit: www.csr-in-action.com
Signed:
CSR-in-Action
Contact:
Osinimega Obajulu
CSR-in-Action Group
Email: bizdev@csr-in-action.com, sitei@sitei.org
Telephone: +234 906 263 4104