Kenya now hires carbon credits advisor
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Kenya has contracted Camco Advisory Services to raise private sector awareness of the impact of climate change on different sectors of the economy. The company, contracted by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Environment will train personnel in the private sector on project implementation, verification and negotiating carbon credit transactions to increase sales of carbon credits.
Carbon credits, also known as certified emissions reductions are issued by the Clean Development Mechanism executive board to reduce emissions achieved by projects it has sanctioned. The mechanism allows a country with an emission-reduction or emission-limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol to implement an emission-reduction project in developing countries. Kenya’s aim is to help the private sector exploit available business opportunities under the Clean Development Mechanism and other carbon trading alternatives in accordance to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate.
The effects of climate change on sustainable development are already being felt in East Africa in unpredictable weather changes, increased flooding and prolonged droughts leading to the disruption of economic activities, affecting local industries’ competitiveness in the international market.
Camco’s mandate also includes the development of Private Sector Climate Change Forum which will act as a driving force to educate, encourage, regulate and manage the creation and distribution of sustainable products and services.
“The Clean Development Mechanism and other carbon market instruments can play a role in promoting sustainable development and addressing poverty-environment issues,” said Camco’s managing director Stephen Mutimba.
He said the rapid expansion of the global carbon market has a lot of potential to be tapped, and Kenya needs to have in place people and programmes to access Clean Development Mechanism and other market instruments to boost the resultant inflow of finances and sustainable technologies.
Unregulated
Kenya is also involved in the Voluntary Carbon Market through Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation Plus (REDD+) projects. The market however remains unregulated at a national and international level.
UNFCCC has registered in Kenya the 35mega watts sugarcane bagasse cogeneration of Mumias Sugar Company, Olkaria III phase 2 geothermal expansion and Olkaria II geothermal expansion as Clean Development Mechanism projects.
Alexander Alusa, the climate change policy advisor in the Prime Minister’s Office said the government is spearheading investment in renewable clean energy sources to contribute to sustainable development in line with Vision 2030.
“The Private Sector Climate Change Forum will be expected to design ways to increase business opportunities, minimise risks and promote resilience through adaptive responses to climate variability,” he said.
The Forum will among others review existing regulatory frameworks, identify capacity gaps in public and private sectors to in place enabling infrastructure and put attract finance under clean development mechanism or voluntary carbon markets.
The private sector has the challenge of develop innovative ways to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions by investing in low carbon projects.
“The private sector has to minimise risks to operations through embracing adaption of climate-friendly technologies. Effective transfer of requisite skills is also essential in combating climate change,” said Alusa.
Companies with the potential to earn carbon credits include many in the domestic segment such cooking stoves, domestic biogas and green charcoal which is a household fuel produced from agricultural waste.
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