Kenya is preparing to release three new environmental regulations aligned with Article 6 of the Paris Agreement by the end of this year, a move that could reshape its position in global carbon markets and open new avenues for bilateral cooperation.
Panoramic view of a thriving forest in Kenya, featuring diverse wildlife and soft golden light at sunrise. AI generated picture.
The planned regulatory package will address key elements of international environmental policy: carbon trading, the establishment of a national carbon registry, and non-market approaches (NMAs). These NMAs, outlined in Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, emphasise collaboration outside traditional carbon credit exchanges.
David Ongare, Director of Environmental Compliance at Kenya’s National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), presented the update during Gold Standard’s climate conference in Paris. ‘Our target is to get all these regulations by the end of this year principally to meet the international obligations we had under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Paris Agreement and the previous Kyoto protocols’, he told delegates.
Kenya’s new registry will serve both voluntary and compliance market initiatives. ‘This registry should be able to handle and report all projects under voluntary and compliance schemes’, Ongare added.
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Alongside the regulatory push, Kenya is pursuing bilateral carbon credit agreements. An existing deal with Switzerland is already in place, and ongoing talks with Sweden, Singapore, and South Korea signal deeper international engagement. Specifics of these negotiations have yet to be disclosed.
Another important development is Kenya’s ongoing effort to establish a framework for corresponding adjustments (CAs), a vital component for transferring carbon credits under Article 6. CAs ensure that mitigation outcomes are correctly accounted for and not double-counted between countries.
‘We are trying to borrow [and] build because we have targets to meet [and] developers who are knocking on the door’, Ongare told Quantum on the sidelines of the conference.
However, Kenya has not finalised its CA accounting structure, which continues to delay the full commercial potential of its carbon credits. Ongare acknowledged that strategies implemented by other African nations, like Ghana’s two-tier Letter of Authorisation system, may not fit Kenya’s context.
He also emphasised the need for equitable treatment in bilateral deals and called for transparent, standardised negotiation frameworks. Draft regulation documents will be published on NEMA’s website and will build on the Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations issued in September last year.
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