By reporter
Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno has called on the Judiciary to put emphasis on the enforcement of environmental law.
This is to effectively combat climate change to improve lives of the communities who are affected by climate threats and disasters across the country.
Ng’eno said that the judiciary plays an important role in the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws.
“Members of the judiciary, as well as those who contribute to the judicial process at the national, regional, and global levels, are critical partners in promoting compliance with, and the implementation and enforcement of international and national environmental law, and ensuring that the current generation enjoys and improves the quality of life for all, while ensuring that the inherent rights and interests of future generations are not jeopardized,” he said.
He gave an example of a current landmark case where the petitioners who are residents of Baringo County have filed a petition that they have suffered and continue to suffer several constitutional violations directly linked to Climate Change impacts and rising water levels in Baringo.
Ng’eno said the petitioners are also seeking an order of compensation and highlighting the role of public officials in climate change duties.
He said the landmark case will serve as a litmus test for the government’s responsibility for helping citizens cope with the impacts of climate change.
He said that the judiciary has a responsibility to ensure that the country’s environment is clean and healthy for everyone.
The PS made the remark during an opening speech of the training workshop for the environment and land court judges on emerging environment, land and land use planning legal issues and carbon markets landscape at Leisure Lodge Beach Resort in Kwale County.
The event was organized by the Council of Governors.
Ng’eno stated that the 2010 constitution marked a new era in environmental management, with more expansive provisions, recognition of citizens’ rights and obligations to ensure a clean and healthy environment, and more relaxed rules on access to environmental justice.
He added through the constitution the courts can set a threshold of jurisprudential expectations for disputes relating to the environment including on climate change.
The PS said Kenya has been active in carbon markets (compliance and voluntary) for over 20 years and has been participating in the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) to promote sustainable development that is consistent with its national laws and priorities.
He said the projects comprise of 187 program activities, 20 projects and 167 small scale component project activities which have assisted in the transfer of environmentally sound technology with its resultant benefits.
Ng’eno also stated that Kenya is committed, through its Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), to using Voluntary Cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which has required the government to develop domestic legislation and institutional frameworks to govern its participation in carbon markets and non-market mechanisms.
He said that carbon markets are critical to climate change mitigation because they provide economic incentives to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
According to the PS, the carbon market provides an additional revenue stream to support sustainable development, as well as several co-benefits to communities involved in the form of social, economic, and environmental benefits.
The term “carbon market” refers to a wide range of systems that are regulated in various jurisdictions for trading greenhouse gas pollution rights.
Ng’eno defined the threat of climate change as the direct physical effects of climate change on human activities, such as scarcity of inputs due to decreased agricultural production, adverse weather conditions disrupting pipelines, reduced water supply due to droughts, or destruction of fixed assets due to flooding.
He said measures adopted by others in response to the threat of climate change — whether international, national, or local in origin — range from international treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol, to market measures such as increases in insurance premiums, to national government regulations forcing businesses to reduce their emissions of GHGs.
The PS said movements towards greening the global economy and decoupling resource use from economic growth present new opportunities for African economies.
He said the Kenyan government has put in place a legal framework to guide the domestic and international investors in order to boost market confidence as well as comply with its international obligations.
Ng’eno said The Climate Change (Amendment) Act, 2023 has incorporated the principles of carbon markets in order to foster and entrench an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) corporate culture for both public and private entities doing carbon business in Kenya.
He stated that having a law that addresses carbon markets, as well as an implementation strategy, will allow Kenya to access climate finance in order to undertake unconditional NDCs and, where possible, conditional NDCs in accordance with updated emission reduction targets.
According to the PS, the law will spur social innovation, economic development, and strengthen natural resource governance, allowing Kenya to tap into technology, capacity building, and research in climate change mitigation and adaptation, as well as promot initiatives on just transition and the implementation of Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
