Leveraging Carbon Trading for a Just Energy Transition in Kenya

This article explores how Kenya’s carbon trading framework can be leveraged to support a Just Energy Transition (JET) that aligns climate action with socio economic equity. While Kenya is a leader in Africa’s voluntary carbon market, exemplified by its regulatory innovations and nature-based projects, serious concerns persist regarding community marginalisation and inadequate benefit-sharing. The article critically examines Kenya’s Climate Change Act 2016, the Carbon Markets Regulations 2024, and emerging frameworks for internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs) under article 6 of the Paris Agreement. It identifies key challenges, including complex approval procedures, institutional overlap, weak enforcement mechanisms, and limited capacity for community participation. The analysis proposes a suite of legal and institutional reforms: recognising carbon credits as financial instruments, expanding project eligibility to include blue carbon and urban planning, clarifying institutional mandates, and strengthening community safeguards through mandatory Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). It also advocates for streamlined regulatory processes and targeted capacity building. By embedding equity into the design and implementation of carbon markets, Kenya can transform carbon trading into a tool for inclusive development. The article contributes a critical legal perspective to the discourse on climate justice and offers policy recommendations for aligning carbon finance with constitutional values and sustainable development goals.