Kenyans deserve to know more about carbon credits

BY DEBORAH BARASA

In the grand, global effort to combat climate change, carbon credits have emerged as a powerful yet deeply misunderstood phenomenon. They fall, nonetheless, in a nexus where economic development and environmental stewardship fuse into one.

Yet, for carbon credits to yield full value, there is need to sidestep boardrooms and prod the heart of our communities.

As things stand at the moment there clearly is an urgent need to foster widespread public awareness about carbon credits and to champion a model of compensation that is both equitable and effective.

Firstly, public awareness is the surest foundation for transparency and public trust. The carbon market is complex and often opaque.

Without a fundamental understanding of how credits are valued, traded, and retired, local communities risk being left behind or exploited. In the past, we have, for instance, witnessed cases where the immense value created by conservation is diluted through long chains of intermediaries.

A recent analysis suggests that a staggering 78 percent of the top carbon offset projects may have fundamental failings that have led them to fall under “likely junk” category due to overestimated claims and a lack of additionality.

An informed citizenry is by far our strongest defence against such malpractices. When our farmers, landowners, and community leaders understand the true value of the ecosystem services they provide, they can negotiate from a position of strength and ensure that benefits are fair and just.

This leads to the second imperative that brings us to the need for equitable compensation. Ideally, carbon finance should function as a cycle that rewards environmental stewardship while supporting sustainable development and reducing emissions simultaneously.

Compensation must therefore be more than a token payment. It must be a transformative investment in communities meaning that a significant portion of revenues should reach those on the front lines of conservation rather than being lost to administrative overheads or corporate profit.

The Kasigau Corridor project provides a credible blueprint to that end. 

By protecting over 200,000 hectares of dryland forest, the Kasigau project has thus far generated over a million carbon credits and funded community developments while creating employment opportunities for hundreds of individuals.

This is a typical case of improving livelihoods while at the same time protecting our planet. Thirdly, awareness is crucial for safeguarding environmental integrity.

The core premise of a carbon credit is that it represents one tonne of carbon dioxide that has been verifiably and permanently removed or avoided.

Public scepticism often arises from well-publicised failures, such as projects that claim to protect forests that were never under threat.

Ideally, we should empower communities to be the guardians of this integrity. This calls for upholding the highest standards of verification from reputable organisations to ensure perpetuity and prevent the double computation of credits.

Furthermore, a deep public understanding of carbon markets is essential for national alignment with global climate goals. Kenya’s ambitious contributions under the Paris Agreement are a national covenant to which we must deliver.

When carbon projects are woven into the fabric of our national climate strategy, they become a powerful engine for tangible progress. Public awareness, therefore, ensures that local initiatives contribute directly to our national targets.

Finally, we must celebrate and learn from proven successes to build momentum. Beyond the Kasigau project, the Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP) involved 30,000 smallholder farmers across 22,000 hectares in sustainable land management.

This effort has pioneered a model that directly compensates farmers for storing carbon in their environments. Internationally, the ambitious Atlantic Forest Restoration Pact in Brazil aims to restore 15 million hectares by 2050.

This endeavour should inspire us to follow suit with similar rigour. Before anything else, we should first demystify carbon finance through robust public awareness campaigns.

While at it we should insist on the highest standards of verification to ensure every credit represents genuine climate action.

To get it right, we ought to learn from examples that are already working to make ours a veritable catalyst for a more sustainable, equitable, and greener future for all Kenyans.

Barasa is the Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry