(Bloomberg) -- Zimbabwe said it had received 13 applications for new carbon offset projects since setting new rules governing the trade last year, a move that roiled the $2 billion market. 

Applications for projects had been received in forestry, regenerative agriculture, waste and energy efficiency sectors, Jenfan Muswere, the information minister, said at a post-cabinet briefing in the capital, Harare, on Tuesday. “Six of the projects having passed the assessment by the designated national authority,” and developers were now drawing up detailed design plans, he said. 

A law adopted in August last year provides for the state to take as much as 30% of carbon-credit revenue, with the balance going to investors. An earlier iteration of the legislation proposed that the government take over a controlling interest in projects.  

Read More: Shock Revenue Grab by Zimbabwe Roils $2 Billion Carbon Market

African nations are seeking to leverage on their vast natural resources in order to raise new finance, with carbon credit industry a potential source of revenue. 

On Tuesday, Zambia’s Environment Minister Collins Nzovu urged the continent to formulate a common stance on the carbon credit trade to ensure they derive maximum benefit. The continent, which has the potential to generate about 30% of the world’s credits, remains on the lowest end of the compensation scale, earning less than $10 for every ton sold, he said. 

A single carbon credit represents a ton of climate-warming carbon dioxide or its equivalent that’s either removed or prevented from entering the atmosphere. They are bought by emitters of greenhouse gases seeking to offset their activities.

The global trade is projected to grow to as much as $1 trillion within 15 years, according to estimates from BloombergNEF. 

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