Key Points:
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Big move
Kenya has launched a national carbon registry to track projects, verify credits, and stop double-counting
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Why it matters
It’s meant to unlock climate finance/private capital by boosting trust in Kenya’s carbon credits
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What supports it
Kenya’s Climate Change Act, 2023 amendments, and 2024 Carbon Markets Regulations set the rules for creating, trading, and retiring credits
The talk is over, and Kenya has officially established a national carbon registry in Africa, aiming to strategically position itself as a global hub for high-integrity carbon credits. The registry was unveiled by the Ministry of Environment and the National Environment Management Authority, and it will function as the primary centre for tracking carbon credit projects. It will also be central to preventing emissions and to avoiding double-counting.
Climate financing
The strategic move comes at a time when Kenya is seeking to benefit from climate financing. This initiative is important to the country because it is a source of private capital that can be diverted to sustainable projects.
Carbon trading rules were established by the Paris Climate Agreement. This legally binding international treaty was adopted in 2015 and entered into force in 2016. The agreement aims to limit global warming to below 2°C, preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels.
Africa hosts a vast Carbon sink but benefits from only a small share of global carbon market investment.
To understand the impact, it’s important to consider how carbon credits work.
Carbon credits are allowances granted by a company or country to emit carbon. One credit is equal to a ton of carbon dioxide emitted or the mass equivalent of carbon dioxide for other gases. Institutions and governments hold as many carbon credits as possible to balance out their emissions.
Kenya’s carbon credit registry serves as a platform for tracking carbon credit projects, verifying emissions, and preventing double-counting. The Kyoto and Paris agreements created the first international carbon markets.
It is important to keep in mind that every country is responsible for issuing, monitoring, and reporting its carbon credit status annually, and there is an allowable limit. Countries are required to buy credits if emissions exceed limits.
What next for Kenya in the Carbon Market
Kenya has been positioning itself as a leading African hub for carbon markets. The Climate Change Act, its 2023 amendments, and the 2024 Carbon Markets Regulations create a structured framework. This covers generating, verifying, trading, and retiring carbon credits. Buyers include corporates seeking compliance-grade offsets and voluntary market participants.
