Office of Kenya's Special Envoy for Climate

On 25–26 March 2025, over 60 policymakers, researchers, and advisors convened in Pretoria, South Africa, to explore the implications of CBAM, carbon pricing, and the green transition for African economies. The workshop, hosted by the Africa Tax Institute, Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL) Africa, and Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A), highlighted how countries are responding to CBAM and where opportunities lie for green industrialization. Our Office was represented by our Carbon Markets Advisor, Faith Temba. Kenya is not currently affected by CBAM, as its EU exports are predominantly agricultural and horticultural, namely flowers, fruits, and vegetables. Yet the mechanism is an early signal of how carbon pricing may increasingly shape global trade. For Kenya, CBAM is both a warning and an opportunity: to strengthen its domestic green economy and to lead regionally through the Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII) and the Accelerated Partnership for Renewable in Africa (APRA), launched by President Ruto. CBAM may potentially result in demand for carbon credits for industries impacted by the regulations.

Our perspective at the Centre for Science and Technology Innovations (CSTI) This plan is a $62B investment opportunity and a litmus test for regenerative finance models. For those on the extractive finance side who argue that there need to be reciprocal benefits, Reciprocal does not mean you put in money and take out minerals. Reciprocal means both sides have an equivalent financial valuation of benefits. What RoI do you want vs What RoI will Kenyans get? Most local investors we have talked to use the Kenya Treasury bond rate as their benchmark. How will you match this rate for Kenyans? Kenya has undeveloped niobium deposits. The challenge with metals, mining, and critical minerals has been that no refining is done within Kenya which means exports are low value. There is an opportunity to set up local clean tech refining and empower micro-SMEs to explore what can be done with non-commercial grade residues (refining wastes). In a regenerative finance model, wealth is grown on both sides (demand & supply) and recirculated to build more symbiotic economic growth. What type of symbiotic relationships can you develop to create value parity?

Kenya's Special Climate Envoy, Ali Mohamed, recently led high-level talks in Moscow with Russian counterparts, including Deputy Prime Minister HE Alexander Novak, Deputy Minister for Economic Development HE Vladimir Ilyichev, and Mr. Andrey Melnichenko, Chair of the Russian Union of Industrial and Entrepreneurs Committee. Amb. Ali advocated for equitable climate policies recognizing Africa's minimal emissions (3%) and right to sustainable development. Representing the African Group of Negotiators, he challenged the EU's CBAM as unfairly burdening African exporters. Discussions with Russian representatives focused on a just transition balancing development and climate responsibility, with both sides agreeing to develop a joint work plan to explore business collaboration, technology transfer, and fairer carbon markets. https://lnkd.in/dXvxm_9y

🚢 For decades, the global shipping industry has paid far less than its fair share in taxes—just 7% on average between 2005 and 2019—while reaping over $300bn in profits. Many top firms paid under 5% in tax. A new report from Opportunity Green exposes these stark realities and debunks the myth that shipping cannot afford a greenhouse gas emissions levy. The truth? After years of tax avoidance and profiteering off pollution, the industry is more than capable of shouldering a high-price levy—and it’s time it did. As IMO delegates shape the future of maritime decarbonization, they must ensure sufficient, timely, and predictable revenues—especially for countries on the frontlines of the climate crisis, like Kenya. The shipping industry must now pay its dues and fund a just, equitable transition. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/dc8ZcxhJ #ClimateAction #Shipping #MaritimeDecarbonization #SustainableFinance

🎈 The 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement marks a major milestone in our collective fight the climate crisis. Since its adoption in 2015, the Agreement has united 192 countries under a shared commitment to limit global warming to well below 2°C, with efforts to cap it at 1.5°C. This collective endeavor, nurtured through years of UN Climate Change COP negotiations, has catalyzed progress, including a 43% reduction target in global greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and the operationalization of a Fund for responding to Loss and Damage to help nations rebuild and recover from climate impacts. Moreover, technological advancements have driven down renewable energy costs—solar by 60% and wind by 40% since 2008—making clean energy more accessible than ever. For us, this underscores the power of sustained international cooperation and the potential for transformative climate action that benefits both people and the planet, building on the foundations laid by decades of COP summits. #COP30 #RoadToBelem #BakuToBelem

Happy birthday COP! 🎂 It has been 30 years since the opening of COP1 in Berlin. These United Nations Climate Conferences – or COPs  - convening nearly all countries of the world have achieved a huge amount since then. Milestone agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol at COP3 in 1997 and the Paris Agreement at COP21 in 2015 as well as other historic decisions at COPs over the years have strengthened the world’s commitment to confront the global climate crisis, and protect people everywhere. Just think – without these agreements, we would be headed for up to 5° Celsius of global heating, which most of humanity could not survive. We're now headed for around 3°C, which is still disastrous, and climate impacts hit countries, economies and people harder every year. So we need much more progress still. 2025 is a critical year for climate action: Under the Paris Agreement, all countries need to submit new, more ambitious national climate plans this year, showing how they will cut emissions more strongly and protect people, infrastructure, businesses and communities. As André Aranha Corrêa do Lago, President-Designate for #COP30 this November in Brazil urged the world earlier this month: We need a global mutirão—a collective effort—against climate change and leave our differences behind. Every minute counts on the road to COP30.  Solidarity is the only way. Curious to explore how it all began? Browse our digital archive: https://bit.ly/4hNG2TZ

🌏 A decisive signal from China and France on the 10th anniversary of the Paris Agreement, reaffirming their commitment to advancing climate action and recognizing climate action as key to strengthening global security, economic prosperity, living standards, and public health. France and China’s stance aligns with Africa’s vision for a green transition. The Africa Green Industrialisation Initiative (AGII), launched at the Africa Climate Summit 2023 in Nairobi, aims to drive green growth across the continent by leveraging renewables, critical minerals, and industrial clusters. AGII represents a transformative opportunity for Africa, with potential GDP growth of 6.4% per $1 million invested and three times more jobs created than fossil fuel industries, according to International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Africans are prepared to usher in an era of climate positive growth alongside France and China. ➡️ Read the full statement: https://lnkd.in/dWWRaB3B

🌍 Opportunity Alert!  The Swedish Institute's Impact Pioneers '25 is a groundbreaking 8-week leadership program connecting innovators from 26 countries to transform sustainable entrepreneurship. Program Highlights: ▪️Fully funded programme with one-week summit in Stockholm, October 2025 ▪️Open to startup hub managers, innovation leaders, and public sector professionals ▪️Free program (including travel & accommodation) Applications close April 30, 2025 🔗 Learn more and apply: https://lnkd.in/dQwjXQqn #ClimaTech #Entrepreneurship #SustainableInnovation #LeadershipDevelopment

At the 2nd East Africa Agroecology Conference, our Senior Carbon Markets Advisor, MO. Zachary, highlighted the challenges facing East African agriculture, where more than 40 percent of soils are degraded and climate change and soil erosion pose significant threats to food production. Zachary emphasized that Indigenous and local farming practices represent time-tested solutions that should be validated, scaled, and resourced—including through carbon finance—to address the intersecting crises of climate change, food insecurity, land degradation, and biodiversity loss in East African Community countries. By leveraging agroecology and soil carbon strategies, these communities can develop pathways to food sovereignty and climate resilience, transforming environmental challenges into opportunities for sustainable agricultural development.

The Envoy’s Office team participated in the closure of the Arabika project, a €3 million coffee value chain initiative funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation and implemented by AVSI Foundation, CEFA Il seme della solidarietà, and E4Impact Foundation across seven Kenyan counties. Kenya’s coffee sector supports approximately 6 million people, including 700,000 small-scale farmers. Unfortunately, the sector is increasingly affected by climate change. In response, the project implemented safeguards to enhance adaptation, training farmers in soil conservation, water harvesting, and organic farming through established cooperatives. These efforts have strengthened livelihoods by improving incomes and resilience. Additionally, the project will establish a research and development unit at the Ruiru Coffee Research Institute to enhance coffee quality to international standards, creating more jobs across the value chain.