Africa is turning into a major source of premium carbon projects, according to the International Emissions Trading Association (IETA).

The world’s least developed region accounts for about 3 percent of the project pipeline under the Clean Development Mechanism designed to generate certified emission-reduction units, or CERs, for eliminating emissions from greenhouse gases such as methane, Henry Derwent, head of IETA,  told Bloomberg.

“European buyers are looking to diversify their portfolios of CERs to manage their risks,” he is quoted as saying. “There are more supplies coming from Africa partly because of emphasis on agriculture and forestry.”

The major market until now  has been Asia, with 77 percent of registered projects, with China, India and South Korea being home to the most projects, according to the UNFCCC.