NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) \u2014 Kenya has introduced a cap on the amount of carbon emissions credits it will authorize for sale to overseas buyers, unveiling one of Africa\u2019s most detailed rule books for international carbon trading.<\/p>\n
The country has set a 10 million metric ton (11,023,113 ton) carbon dioxide equivalent budget for international carbon market transactions up to 2030. It establishes a ceiling against which every request will be assessed under the country\u2019s new carbon markets<\/a> guide. <\/p>\n The guide, released Monday, creates a framework for approving projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to trade emission reduction credits to help meet global climate targets. <\/p>\n \u201cIt introduces a national carbon budget for trading to safeguard our Nationally Determined Contribution,\u201d or NDC, Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said. <\/p>\n The Paris Agreement, signed just over a decade ago, commits countries to keeping the rise in global temperatures by the year 2100 compared with preindustrial times \u201cwell below\u201d 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and says they will \u201cendeavor to limit\u201d them even more, to 1.5 degrees Celsius.<\/p>\n Kenya\u2019s carbon budget covers emissions reductions generated in the energy, transportation, industrial processes and waste sectors, with annual allocations capped at 1.67 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Officials say the cap is intended to prevent Kenya from overselling carbon credits that it may later need to meet its own NDC under the Paris Agreement.<\/p>\n The framework replaces an often uncertain approval process<\/a> characterized by its three-stage decision pathway comprising No-Objection, Approval and Authorization.<\/p>\n \u201cThe guide establishes a national carbon budget for trading as a binding safeguard,\u201d Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng\u2019eno said, adding that it provides state agencies with practical decision-making tools throughout a project\u2019s life cycle.<\/p>\n The guide also introduces a conditional list of priority activities covering renewable energy, transportation and waste projects. Forests and other land-use projects are excluded for now while the country develops stronger baselines and data to manage reversal risks. Officials say inclusion on the list does not guarantee approval but is intended to speed the review of projects that align with Kenya\u2019s development priorities.<\/p>\n Kenya has emerged as one of Africa\u2019s largest carbon market destinations, attracting investments in clean cooking<\/a>, renewable energy, mangrove restoration and forest conservation. The government says the new framework will improve investor confidence by making decisions more predictable while protecting climate integrity and ensuring local communities benefit from carbon market projects.<\/p>\n \u201cPredictability, transparency, and institutional coherence are essential to attracting quality investment,\u201d Ng\u2019eno said, adding that government decisions will be based on \u201cclear, published criteria designed to deliver national benefits without compromising Kenya\u2019s climate integrity.\u201d<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n The Associated Press\u2019 climate and environmental coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP\u2019s standards<\/a> for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at AP.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) \u2014 Kenya has introduced a cap on the amount of carbon emissions credits it will…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1131078,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[3843],"tags":[2740,51,7029,8616,10293,307891,3057,728,4179,8615,3058,10544,195975,5442,70,16,15,263],"class_list":["post-1131077","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-environment","tag-africa","tag-business","tag-climate","tag-climate-and-environment","tag-currency-markets","tag-deborah-barasa","tag-energy-markets","tag-environment","tag-general-news","tag-international-news","tag-international-trade","tag-kenya","tag-kenya-government","tag-renewable-energy","tag-science","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-world-news"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/117040797815924300","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131077","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1131077"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1131077\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1131078"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1131077"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1131077"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1131077"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}