This archive report was first published on 6 July 2021.
KenGen, Kenya's largest electricity producer, has made significant strides in reducing its carbon footprint. As of Tuesday, the company has more than doubled its certified emission reduction credits (CERs) available for sale to over 550,000.
A CER is equivalent to one tonne of CO2 and is part of emission reduction efforts under the Kyoto Protocol. The additional 309,495 CERs certified under United Nations guidelines on climate change bring the total to over 550,000.
KenGen has six Clean Development Mechanism projects, which can generate CERs with the potential to produce 1.5 million tonnes of carbon equivalent per year. The latest CERs under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are from its 105 megawatt (MW) Olkaria II geothermal power station.
“550,981 tonnes of CO2e has already been issued by the UNFCCC and are now available for sale,” KenGen said in a statement.
KenGen has an installed generation capacity of 1,818 MW, of which 86% is from renewable wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal sources. The company's efforts to reduce its carbon footprint are part of the government's broader efforts to limit the release of greenhouse gases.
According to a 2018 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics study, Kenya loses 2.0–2.4% of its gross domestic product annually due to the effects of climate change, such as drought and floods. The study also showed that droughts cost Kenya 8% of its GDP every five years.
via Reuters
