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The Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Hon. Soipan Tuya, has apprised the National Assembly Committee on Environment, Forestry and Mining on the Climate Change (Amendment) Bill 2023.
The Committee chaired by Hon. David Gikaria (Nakuru East) heard that the objective of the Bill, sponsored by the Leader of the Majority Party, Hon. Kimani IchungwβahΒ (Kikuyu), is to legislate on carbon, carbon rights, carbon markets and trading.
CS Soipan said that the Bill seeks to control and manage carbon markets and trading with a focus on key sectors with a potential to aid global emission reduction with adaptation benefits.
βIn addition, the Bill will provide guidance on verification, certification, standards, issuance of emission reduction certificates to engage in carbon markets and trading, carbon benefit sharing, safeguards when dealing with carbon markets and trading as well as guidance on information disclosure and penalties for any contraventions,β the CS told the Committee members.
According to the CS, the carbon market is an issue of sovereign interest and must be controlled by the Government. She, however, acknowledged that too much control by the Government is likely to scare away investors.
The Committee also heard thatΒ carbon trading has enormous benefits to Kenya that includes supporting it to comply with the Paris Agreement that Kenya ratified and became a party to back in December, 2016. Article 6 of the Paris Agreement encourages parties to raise their mitigation ambition through carbon markets and non-market approaches. In addition, carbon trading will ensure horizontal integration by institutionalizing the National Climate Change Council and vertical integration by mainstreaming climate change policy as determined by the Council through national and county institutions.
Earlier, the Committee held public participation hearings with seven key stakeholders; Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KePSA), Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), Northern Rangeland Trust (NRT), Kenya Wildlife Conservancies Association, Nairobi Climate Network, Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG) and the academia group, who submitted their viewsΒ to the Committee with an aim of enriching the Bill.
