Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI:Kenya has unveiled one of Africa’s most detailed rule books for international carbon trading. It has introduced a cap on the amount of carbon emissions credits it will authorize for sale to overseas buyers. The country has set a 10 million tonnes (11,023,113 tonnes) 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’s new carbon markets guide. The guide, released on August 3, 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.
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 “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and says they will “endeavor to limit” them even more, to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Kenya’s carbon budget covers emissions reductions generated in the energy, transportation, industrial processes and waste sectors, with annual allocations capped at 1.67 million tonnes 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. The guide also introduces a conditional list of priority activities covering renewable energy, transportation and waste projects.
