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Kenya - Nairobi
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Kenya´s NDC commitment |
Kenya has developed an ambitious climate change strategy, which includes a pledge to reduce its GHG emissions by 30% by 2030 relative to the BAU scenario of 143 million tCO2eq in line with its sustainable development agenda. The Republic of Kenya (Kenya) is situated on the equator on the African continent’s east coast, bordering the Indian Ocean between Somalia, Tanzania, South Sudan, Uganda and Ethiopia. Kenya is home to 49.69 million people living on a total land area size of 582.646 km2 consisting of 11,230km2 of water surface and 571,416k km2 of land area – with an urban population growth rate of 4.3% per year and a growing share of its population living in urban areas. By 2050 about half the population is estimated to be living in cities (World Bank, 2016). The urban population of Kenya is concentrated along the Northern Corridor, which has led to the development of three urban hubs, the central hub (with Nairobi the focus city); the coastal hub (centralised around Mombasa); and the western hub (around the urban centers of Kisumu, Eldoret, Kericho, and Nakuru). The World Bank estimates that Kenya’s capital city, Nairobi, will become home to 6 million people by 2030 currently Nairobi is home to 4 million people (World Bank, 2016).
It is the fifth-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africawith a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 60.9 billion, a GDP per capita of USD 1.246 and gross national income (GNI) per capita of USD 1,280 in 2014 (World Bank, 2016). Approximately 42 per cent of Kenya’s national GDP is derived from its natural resource sectors (agriculture, forestry, fishing, watersupply and energy). The services sector (which in- cludes transport and communications, wholesale andretail trade, and financial and other services) accountsfor about half of GDP. The industrial sector (manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying) contributes the remaining 10 percent (WorldBank,2014). The employment to population ratio percentage ages 15 and older is 60.9% (UN Human Development Reports, 2016). Kenya’s economy was evaluated to have been performing well even though in 2017 it experienced a prolonged election period and a severe drought (IMF, 2018). The IMF has further concluded, during its March 2018 visit, that “Kenya’s externalcurrent account deficit rose to an estimated 6.4 per-cent of GDP in 2017 from 5.2 percent in 2016, reflecting higher imports, including fuel. The exchange rate has remained stable and foreign exchange reserves have risen to US$7.1 billion as of end-January 2018 and are sufficient to withstand any potential near-termexternal shocks”.
Kenya is committed to reduce its GHG emis- sions by 30% by 2030, relative to business-as-usual (BAU) scenario (baseline 2010) of predicated 143 MtCO2e in 2030. Addressing climate change in a holistic manner will benefit Kenya to also address the other socio-economicchallenges. By failing to address climate change in a multi-sectoral approach, Kenya will risk a further deterioration of the nation’s GDP, resulting in greater unemployment and worsening poverty. Historically Kenya contribution of total global emission per capita is low (less than 1.26 MtCO2e) compared to the global average of 7,58 MtCO2e. Emissions in Kenya are still relatively low in comparison to other countries (73 MtCO2e in 2010). Yet, carbon emissions started to increase from 1995 and this trend is likely to con- tinue by 2030 (Kenya’s National Action Plan, 2013). Moreover, Kenya’s National Strategy aims to curb greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20) in sectors such as energy, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, forestry and other land use and waste sector. Their planning process will include a review of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) through the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) everyfive years. Through the regular review process, theNational Strategy also streamlines the climate change mechanism in all relevant ministries and will oversee the Kenyan Climate Fund. Kenya has committed to achieve its NDC targets based on existing laws and national policies. In recent years, its legislature has developed a National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS, 2010), a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and a Climate Change Act (2016) to curb the increasing emissions in the country.
It is the fifth-largest economy in sub-Saharan Africawith a gross domestic product (GDP) of USD 60.9 billion, a GDP per capita of USD 1.246 and gross national income (GNI) per capita of USD 1,280 in 2014 (World Bank, 2016). Approximately 42 per cent of Kenya’s national GDP is derived from its natural resource sectors (agriculture, forestry, fishing, watersupply and energy). The services sector (which in- cludes transport and communications, wholesale andretail trade, and financial and other services) accountsfor about half of GDP. The industrial sector (manufacturing, construction, mining and quarrying) contributes the remaining 10 percent (WorldBank,2014). The employment to population ratio percentage ages 15 and older is 60.9% (UN Human Development Reports, 2016). Kenya’s economy was evaluated to have been performing well even though in 2017 it experienced a prolonged election period and a severe drought (IMF, 2018). The IMF has further concluded, during its March 2018 visit, that “Kenya’s externalcurrent account deficit rose to an estimated 6.4 per-cent of GDP in 2017 from 5.2 percent in 2016, reflecting higher imports, including fuel. The exchange rate has remained stable and foreign exchange reserves have risen to US$7.1 billion as of end-January 2018 and are sufficient to withstand any potential near-termexternal shocks”.
Kenya is committed to reduce its GHG emis- sions by 30% by 2030, relative to business-as-usual (BAU) scenario (baseline 2010) of predicated 143 MtCO2e in 2030. Addressing climate change in a holistic manner will benefit Kenya to also address the other socio-economicchallenges. By failing to address climate change in a multi-sectoral approach, Kenya will risk a further deterioration of the nation’s GDP, resulting in greater unemployment and worsening poverty. Historically Kenya contribution of total global emission per capita is low (less than 1.26 MtCO2e) compared to the global average of 7,58 MtCO2e. Emissions in Kenya are still relatively low in comparison to other countries (73 MtCO2e in 2010). Yet, carbon emissions started to increase from 1995 and this trend is likely to con- tinue by 2030 (Kenya’s National Action Plan, 2013). Moreover, Kenya’s National Strategy aims to curb greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20) in sectors such as energy, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, forestry and other land use and waste sector. Their planning process will include a review of the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) and the National Adaptation Plan (NAP) through the National Climate Change Secretariat (NCCS) everyfive years. Through the regular review process, theNational Strategy also streamlines the climate change mechanism in all relevant ministries and will oversee the Kenyan Climate Fund. Kenya has committed to achieve its NDC targets based on existing laws and national policies. In recent years, its legislature has developed a National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS, 2010), a National Adaptation Plan (NAP) and a Climate Change Act (2016) to curb the increasing emissions in the country.
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Policy Process in Kenya |
Governance and institutions
Kenya is a unitary state with a multi-party political system and is generally described as a middle-income country due to its comparative wealth yet its societal reality experience displays huge differences between the development of its rural and urban areas and popu- lation (Campbell, 2018). Kenya’s Constitution (2013) provides for two autonomous but interdependent levels of government; a national and county level administrations. This two-tier government system consists of a national government and 47 autonomous county governments. This system provides of devolution governance structure, giving country governments an integral role in service delivery. Kenya is regarded as East Africa’s largest economy with the port city of Mombasa and the capital Nairobi being the economic gateway to East Africa. In 2017, Kenyan marked the 60th anniversary of democratic elections and again went to the polls to elected a new leader.
National Government
The re-drafted and adopted constitution of 2010 also changed the political power structures, infusing more checks and balances within the Kenyan political landscape – decentralising power to county level assemblies, governors, senators and special representatives. The electoral ballot now allows for Kenyans to votefor a president, members of parliament and six officials from the local level up. Moreover, Kenya now has 47 county administrations which have more control over their financial resources at the local level andhave impacted on spending in geographical areas that have been neglected in the past.
Political environment
The political landscape of Kenya has been dominated by numerous factors that affect the policy environment and governance stability – these include, political instability and institutional transparency. In 2010, the Kenyan constitution was amended to try and address some of these negative disruptions. The changes to the 2010 constitution include a devolution of power and resources, reduced power of the executive by altering the structure of government and giving parliament more oversight, the creation of a citizen’s Bill of Rights and a land commission (Greste, 2010).
Kenya is a unitary state with a multi-party political system and is generally described as a middle-income country due to its comparative wealth yet its societal reality experience displays huge differences between the development of its rural and urban areas and popu- lation (Campbell, 2018). Kenya’s Constitution (2013) provides for two autonomous but interdependent levels of government; a national and county level administrations. This two-tier government system consists of a national government and 47 autonomous county governments. This system provides of devolution governance structure, giving country governments an integral role in service delivery. Kenya is regarded as East Africa’s largest economy with the port city of Mombasa and the capital Nairobi being the economic gateway to East Africa. In 2017, Kenyan marked the 60th anniversary of democratic elections and again went to the polls to elected a new leader.
National Government
The re-drafted and adopted constitution of 2010 also changed the political power structures, infusing more checks and balances within the Kenyan political landscape – decentralising power to county level assemblies, governors, senators and special representatives. The electoral ballot now allows for Kenyans to votefor a president, members of parliament and six officials from the local level up. Moreover, Kenya now has 47 county administrations which have more control over their financial resources at the local level andhave impacted on spending in geographical areas that have been neglected in the past.
Political environment
The political landscape of Kenya has been dominated by numerous factors that affect the policy environment and governance stability – these include, political instability and institutional transparency. In 2010, the Kenyan constitution was amended to try and address some of these negative disruptions. The changes to the 2010 constitution include a devolution of power and resources, reduced power of the executive by altering the structure of government and giving parliament more oversight, the creation of a citizen’s Bill of Rights and a land commission (Greste, 2010).
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Nairobi - Kenya
Kenya is committed to reduce its GHG emissions by 30% by 2030, relative to a business-as-usual (BAU) scenario (baseline 2010) of predicted 143 MtCO2e in 2030. Kenya´s National Strategy aims to curb greenhouse gas such as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) in sectors, such as energy, transportation, industrial processes, agriculture, forestry and other land use and the waste sector. |
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UN-Habitat is grateful for the financial supportprovided by the government of Norway for the NDC analysis this paper is based on.
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Mobility in Nairobi |
Nairobi is the capital of Kenya and is located on the edge of the country's agricultural region of the central highlands and 1800 meters above sea level - this contributes to lower average temperatures and creates an area where rainfall is relatively higher than in the surrounding areas. Nairobi as a city was established by the colonial powers in the late 1890s, initially as a railway camp, and now is the second largest city by population size in the Great Lakes region – after Dar es Salaam in Tanzania – and is Africa’s Green City in the Sun and East Africa’s economic powerhouse (World Bank, 2016). The metropolitan City of Nairobi is regarded as Kenya engine for economic growth and more than a third of the urban population lives in the City of Nairobi (and Mombasa). It is also home to the UN-Habitat and UN-Environment organisation’s headquarters, IBM, Intel and Google also use Nairobi as their base for its African operations. An estimated 3.9 million people live in the City of Nairobi (The Conversation, 2018) – this is a double since the 1986 census (Metcalf, J. 2016). Population density in Nairobi varies greatly, peaking in the city’s slums, which house roughly 2.5 million people in about 200 settlements. Roughly 60 percent of Nairobi’s population occupies just 6 percent of the land.
Transport
Residents of Nairobi have been burdened with an unsafe urban transportation system that have seen 447 pedestrians killed in 2015 from traffic-related incidents on the streets of Nairobi (Klopp, J. M. 2017). Nairobi historically has invested heavily in a car-centric development – with large investments in highways and expanding road networks. With rising urbanisation the City of Nairobi has seen a rise in pollution, congestion and obesity. Interestingly, just 12% of Nairobi’s population use private vehicles and most other people rely on the public transport system. In 2017, Nairobi took the first steps to redress its problems by passing the Non-Motorized Transport Policy – the new policy aims to develop the city toward a more inclusive transport modal design.
Transport
Residents of Nairobi have been burdened with an unsafe urban transportation system that have seen 447 pedestrians killed in 2015 from traffic-related incidents on the streets of Nairobi (Klopp, J. M. 2017). Nairobi historically has invested heavily in a car-centric development – with large investments in highways and expanding road networks. With rising urbanisation the City of Nairobi has seen a rise in pollution, congestion and obesity. Interestingly, just 12% of Nairobi’s population use private vehicles and most other people rely on the public transport system. In 2017, Nairobi took the first steps to redress its problems by passing the Non-Motorized Transport Policy – the new policy aims to develop the city toward a more inclusive transport modal design.
