Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) Electricity utility, the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) said Tuesday it will soon benefit from its Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)projects, adding momentum to its efforts to combat climate change.
The firm said the move follows the issuance of additional 309,495 Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) for the organization’s Olkaria II CDM Project by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), bringing the total amount of issued carbon credits to 550,981.
KenGen CEO Rebecca Miano said climate change has become one of the biggest global environmental challenges and has created an urgent need for mitigating its effects.
“KenGen has a dedicated team to spearhead environmental sustainability and contribute to the reduction of the effects of climate change,” Miano said in a statement issued in Nairobi.
The Kenyan firm has been focusing on the production of green energy and currently, more than 86 percent of the energy produced by the company is from clean sources namely wind, hydro and geothermal.
The company has six registered CDM projects under the mechanism with a potential emission reduction of 1.5 million tons of Carbon Dioxide (tCO2e) annually. According to KenGen, out of this, 550,981 tCO2e has already been issued by the UNFCCC and is now available for sale.
KenGen, which is listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE), will now earn about 119 million shillings (1.1 million U.S. dollars) from the 550,981 carbon credits issued so far.
The CDM projects contribute to national sustainable development by providing clean energy which ensures improved environmental quality, positive health impacts, and increased productivity.
CDM was developed as part of the output of global concern to contribute to climate change mitigation and to foster sustainable development for non-industrialized countries.
KenGen said it intends to incorporate additional geothermal, wind, and solar projects which will reduce between 100,000 to 600,000 carbon emissions every year, in the process reducing the impact of climate change on the environment. Enditem
