President William Ruto has expressed confidence that the Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations published earlier this year will ensure communities involved in carbon trading initiatives receive 40 per cent of the proceeds.
The regulations laid a framework for carbon trading, an emerging income source where polluters are made to pay those who engage in conservation efforts. In layman terms, carbon credits are permits that allow a country or organisation to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide.
Communities elsewhere can get money from that emitter by capturing carbon emissions or preserving carbon sinks like forests.
Conservation efforts generate credits that can then be sold to the polluters looking to offset their emissions. This has created a new revenue stream for developing nations like Kenya, with vast natural resources critical for carbon absorption.
Carbon markets are viewed as the next frontier of income for communities living in areas like Samburu.
The regulations cited by President Ruto, which were gazetted in May, specify that land-based public or community land projects must contribute at least 40 per cent of their previous year’s earnings to the community.
The president noted that while carbon credits are an emerging economic frontier for Kenya, there is a need to prioritise those directly involved in preserving the country’s natural resources.
President Ruto said investors and companies must ensure that their investments contribute to sustainable development, encompassing the environment, climate and people’s well-being.
The President spoke on Friday when he attended the Maa Cultural Week at Archer’s Post in Samburu County.
He noted that the call for equitable distribution aims to ensure that communities living in areas key to carbon sequestration efforts (capturing and storing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) can tangibly benefit from the global market for carbon credits.
The President’s announcement follows years of debate and advocacy by local leaders, conservationists, and civil society organisations, all emphasising the need for communities to reap financial rewards for their environmental stewardship.
“MPs who have passed that law must stand firm to ensure that the community that comes from these areas where we have carbon market business going on that 40 percent of proceeds get to the community so that we begin to develop those that are working with us on matters conservation,” he said.
In comparison, non-land-based projects must contribute at least 25 per cent. This addresses concerns about past projects lacking evident community benefit-sharing mechanisms.
The regulations state that to receive project approval, a proponent must be a legal entity with the financial capacity and knowledge to undertake a carbon project. They will also need to disclose project costs, expected emission reductions and estimated revenue.
The regulations define a land-based carbon project as “any project that involves activities related to land use, land management and ecosystem conservation or restoration aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions or carbon sequestration.”
Non-land-based projects reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove carbon dioxide from the atmosphere without using technology for execution.
They can be household or institutional green technologies like hand-held solar lighting, energy-efficient cookstoves, water purification and electric-powered or green transport.
In many areas across Kenya such as the Mau Forest, the Aberdare Range, and the mangroves along the coast, local communities have been crucial in forest conservation, reforestation, and other practices that mitigate carbon emissions.
However, the income generated from carbon credits has not always filtered down to these communities, with most funds remaining in the hands of corporate and institutional players.
Local leaders and community members welcomed the announcement as a chance to redefine conservation as a sustainable livelihood.
Miriam Lekalale, a community leader from Samburu County involved in one of the carbon trading projects, expressed hope that this new policy could uplift marginalised regions by channelling much-needed funds into local economies.
“We are the custodians of this land. For years, we’ve cared for these forests and ecosystems, but the returns have been minimal. If we receive 40 per cent of the proceeds, it will change our lives, allowing us to invest in schools, healthcare, and other infrastructure,” she said.
