World Environment Day this year was marked with global attention focused on the urgent need to end plastic pollution. Yet, carbon emissions remain a far more insidious threat that continues to accelerate the climate crisis, economic instability and conflict.
While the plastic bottle bobbing in a river is an easy villain, carbon dioxide (CO₂) is invisible, odourless and more destructive.
According to data from the International Energy Agency (IEA), energy-related carbon dioxide emissions reached a record 37.8 billion tonnes in 2024, a 0.8 percent increase from the previous year, largely driven by increased fossil fuel demand and uneven progress in green energy transitions across countries.
Carbon emission accounts for roughly 70–80 percent of human-induced emissions as consistently reported by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Carbon emissions now surpass emissions from other gases such as methane, nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases.
Kenya’s carbon emissions are about 0.37 tonnes, 10 times lower than the global average and over 30 times less than countries like the United States or Australia (Our World in Data, 2023). Despite this, Kenyans are facing worsening droughts, flash floods, erratic rainfall and loss of biodiversity due to global warming.
According to Survival International’s Blood Carbon report, Kenya’s land and indigenous communities are being exploited under the guise of carbon offsetting, with foreign corporations leveraging forests, grasslands and even burial sites to acquire cheap carbon credits.
The report highlights how these schemes proceed without genuine consent, disrupt traditional land use systems, and leave local communities impoverished.
Even as countries like Kenya adopt the language of climate finance and carbon markets, the deeper question remains: who will fund the transition to a carbon-free future? If the global community is serious about justice, climate finance needs to shift from rhetoric to reality.
Africa requires approximately Sh310 trillion or $2.4 trillion each year until 2030 to achieve its climate and development objectives as indicated in Climate Policy Initiative's 2024 report on the Landscape of Climate Finance in Africa. Yet, it receives just 3.3 percent of global climate finance flows, despite a 48 percent increase in funding between 2021 and 2022.
Africa has significant potential for carbon appropriation but it lacks the infrastructure, regulatory strength and technical know-how, to benefit equitably from these markets.
The Africa Development Bank (AfDB)’s recent launch of the Africa Carbon Markets Support Facility is a step forward, but many barriers remain including what outgoing AfDB President Akinwumi Adesina refers to as a “carbon grab.” There is, however, hope with signs of progress worth noting.
Advancement in clean energy technologies, such as wind, solar, and electric vehicles, have played a significant role in curbing emissions growth. The IEA notes that without these technologies, the global increase in Carbon emissions over the past five years would have been three times larger.
Amid global challenges, Kenya is not just reacting—it is taking proactive leadership, overcoming significant obstacles along the way. Kenya stands out in Africa as a leader in environmental consciousness and decarbonisation.
With over 80 percent of its electricity derived from renewable sources including geothermal, wind and hydro, Kenya boasts one of the cleanest energy mixes on the continent (IEA, 2023).
Kenya was also among the first countries in Africa to ban single-use plastics and in 2023, hosted the inaugural Africa Climate Summit, reinforcing its position as a leader in climate action.
The government’s National Climate Change Action Plan sets an ambitious target of reducing emissions by 32 percent by 2030 aligning with the Paris Agreement.
Kenya is laying the groundwork for climate markets through the Climate Change (Amendment) Act 2023. While it outlines a carbon trading framework, it must be strengthened with community input, fair benefit-sharing, and local enforcement.
Carbon emissions in Kenya aren’t just driven by external players. The country’s growing industrial, energy, and transport sectors are becoming more carbon intensive. Most businesses are still learning how to track and manage emissions, and while Scope 1 and 2 metrics are crucial, emissions reporting and sustainability indicators remain uncommon.
Financial institutions play a vital role in climate finance. Rather than treating it as a niche, it should be integrated into lending, risk, and investment strategies. By de-risking low-carbon projects, offering sustainability linked loans, and reinvesting carbon revenues in local communities, they can have real impact.
If more institutions adopt these models, Africa can help shape the future of climate economics. With its renewable energy potential, youth-led innovation, and nature-based solutions, the continent is well-placed to lead in sustainable development and global climate policy.
The writer is Group Director Corporate Advisory & Sustainability |I&M Group PLC
