Last week, on October 16, the Environment and Land Court in Malindi upheld the revocation of the Lamu Coal Plant Licence, a decision which had already been arrived at in 2019 by the National Environment Tribunal (NET). It was a decision which many community members in Lamu welcomed as they have been waiting for it for many years, frustrated by constant adjournments.
Earlier this year, in June, hundreds of Lamu residents took to the streets and the waters of the Indian Ocean to protest the proposed coal plant. They were defending their heritage, their environment, and their future.
The residents warned that the coal project would not only deepen the climate crisis but also devastate their daily lives. As guardians of the sea, they knew the plant would mean a collapse of fish populations and the erosion of livelihoods that have sustained them and their forefathers.
One of the key complaints about the coal plant is that public participation was absent or limited at best. Therefore, for years, Lamu residents, supported by activists and civil society, stood firm in their opposition of the coal plant most notably through local civil society groups, Save Lamu and the DeCOALonize Campaign.
This ruling, on the Lamu Coal Plant, is a reaffirmation that environmental rights are human rights and a reminder that those rights can and must be upheld.
Renewable energy generation
But perhaps equally significant is that when Kenya submitted its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), which is its official climate action plan outlining how it will reduce emissions and build resilience under the Paris Agreement, Kenya signalled a bold commitment to transformation.
Kenya made a firm commitment to energy sector reforms that aim to increase renewable energy generation in the national grid towards 100 per cent by 2035 and promote clean and efficient energy use across transport, industry, agriculture, and domestic sectors, with a focus on clean cooking. What this means ultimately is that we must now shelve the notion that coal has any place in Kenya’s green climate resilient future. Not in Lamu, not in Kitui.
Kenya’s climate commitment has shelved the idea. As a companion to the Coal obsession, and what I hope will be a bookend to the relentless rise in fossil fuel expansion, there was also hope on the global front. We have known for decades that the burning of fossil fuels such as coal is killing us.
But now, a bold global movement is taking shape: the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty. The treaty aims to end the expansion of fossil fuels, phase out existing production in a fair and equitable way, and fast-track a just transition to renewable energy for all. It is a call to finally align our policies with the urgency of the climate crisis. So far 17 countries have signed the treaty, and counting.
Prosperity and sustainability
Last week, at the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) World Conservation Congress, history was made. With the adoption of Motion 042, the first global resolution to explicitly name fossil fuel production as a threat to nature, the conservation community sent its strongest message yet that protecting biodiversity means confronting the root causes of its destruction. This moment demands that we act with conviction. Because our future lies in renewables.
What we need now is the courage to break free from the grip of fossil fuels and embrace the abundance that surrounds us. The good news is that the front runners are already showing us the way. I was deeply inspired to be in Addis Ababa last month and see electric vehicles (EVs) everywhere! I found myself pointing out the slew of charging stations popping up around the city with the glee of a child in an ice cream store.
Ethiopia is harnessing its vast renewable energy opportunity to power a new era of mobility and climate leadership. Across our continent, EV policies are emerging and building on the foundation of our abundant renewable resources: sun, wind, and water. That must be the North Star.
And on the global stage, China is showing what scale and ambition can look like. With its declaration that “Green is Gold,” China is investing heavily in clean energy, building entire cities powered by renewables, and leading the world in solar manufacturing and EV deployment.
This is a shift in technology, values, and a recognition that prosperity and sustainability are not mutually exclusive. This is the Kenya we must build. Where we invest not in the fading power of the past, but in the boundless promise of a renewable future.
Ms Mathai is the MD for Africa & Global Partnerships at the World Resources Institute and Chair of the Wangari Maathai Foundation
