The carbon market in Kenya has regained vitality as the local private sector injected significant capital toward nature-based interventions to tackle the climate crisis, the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) said in a report launched in the capital of Nairobi Monday.
Kenya ranks number eight on the list of countries selling carbon credits from nature-based solutions, said the report titled “Change the Story: Developing a Local Carbon Market in Kenya.”
The report said Kenya has the potential to sequester, reduce or avoid 30 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually, and mobilize 600 million U.S. dollars annually from regulatory compliance and voluntary carbon market projects by 2030 using an average price of 20 dollars per metric ton.
Between 2016 and 2021, Kenya issued 26 metric tons of carbon offsets, more than any other African country and approximately 20 percent of the total carbon credits in the continent, the KEPSA said.
“From a macro perspective, the production of carbon credits in Kenya has enormous potential. Therefore, an effort to streamline the domestic carbon market alongside the ongoing export of carbon credits undoubtedly is worthwhile,” KEPSA said.
Kenya’s private sector and a wide array of conservation bodies have invested in carbon-offsetting projects like reforestation and green energy as part of their contribution to the fight against the climate crisis.
According to the KEPSA report, political goodwill coupled with regulatory and policy reforms has encouraged the industry to be an active player in efforts to sequester carbon, hastening the transition to a greener future.
By investing in nature-based solutions to the climate crisis including reforestation and regreening of landscapes, Kenya’s listed companies have aided the government’s efforts to strengthen the resilience of communities on the frontline of climate disasters like droughts, floods and disease outbreaks, the KEPSA said.
Developing a robust carbon market in Kenya requires state intervention to enhance sustainable financing, attract overseas capital and strike a balance between supply and demand, the KEPSA said.
Ebenezer Amadi, the program manager at KEPSA-affiliated Sustainable Inclusive Business (SIB-Kenya), said that the creation of a vibrant local carbon market will boost economic and health outcomes for communities vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change.
