Gabon signs carbon credit deals with Germany's SEFE

Gabon has signed deals to transfer sovereign carbon credits offsetting six million tonnes of CO2 to German state-owned energy company SEFE, the central African country's presidency said.

The deal was signed in London by the Gabonese Agency for the Development of the Green Economy. The financial terms were not made public.

The agency said the credits were linked to Gabon's status as a country with high forest cover and low deforestation, and rewarded long-running efforts to preserve its forests.

Nearly 90% of Gabon's land is covered by forests. The country forms part of the Congo basin, which scientists consider an important absorber of emissions linked to climate change.

Carbon credits allow companies and countries to offset excess emissions by financing projects that cut greenhouse gases elsewhere. Critics warn that poorly designed offset schemes can allow greenwashing or overstated emissions reductions.