Environment Secretary Alice Kaunda (left) confer with the Royal Danish Ambassador Geert Aagaard Andersen during the 3rd stakeholder forum on green growth in Kenya organized by the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources and the Royal Embassy of Denmark on May 6, 2013 at Panafric hotel in Nairobi. SALATON NJAU
Kenya has maintained a positive trend in development of a low carbon economy as it implement a raft of policy and regulatory frameworks, said Kenyan official said on Monday.
Environment Secretary at the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Alice Kaudia said the green growth has accelerated as both state and non state actors implement resource efficient projects across strategic sectors of the economy.
"We have an inclusive green growth program whose implementation is progressing without hiccups. Green economy is at the heart of new administration policy agenda in line with vision 2030," Kaudia said in a national green growth forum.
The forum was held to review progress Kenya has made in the transition to a low carbon economy.
The Kenyan government has established policy, legal and financial incentives to catalyse green growth at national and county level. "There are new policies and strategies to catalyse implementation of vision 2030 flagship projects on renewable energy, biodiversity restoration, conservation of water towers and solid waste management," Kaudia said.
She added that a national climate change response strategy will strengthen resource efficiency alongside green production and consumption in Kenya.
"Green growth will only be realised if Kenya adopt sustainable production and consumption models to ease pressure on natural resources like forests, land and water," said the environment secretary.
The East African nation is a trailblazer in green growth as government partners with the private sector and community based organisations to implement programs that promote resource use efficiency to minimize carbon emissions.
The Head of Climate Change Secretariat, Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources, Charles Mutai, revealed that Kenya has a solid national green growth strategy whose development is informed by international best practices.
"Low carbon economic growth has been prioritised in line with vision 2030 development blue print to ensure Kenya achieve energy, water and food security in the face of climatic shocks," said Mutai.
He disclosed that counties are the next focus for green projects focusing on renewable energy, natural resources conservation and sustainable land use practices. Kenya should accelerate green growth to reduce poverty and ecological risks associated with increased demand for energy, food, land and water.
The Danish Ambassador to Kenya, Geert Aagaard Andersen, noted that Kenya stands to reap social, economic and ecological benefits associated with resource use efficiency. "The transition to a green economy will by itself propel a new wave of economic growth, through innovation of technologies and promotion of resource efficiency and job creation," said Andresen.
He added that accelerating green growth in Kenya will reduce the proportion of people living below the poverty line by 3 per cent annually. The UN environmental agency (UNEP) has called on governments to triple investments required to promote sustainable management and utilization of natural wealth in order to accelerate the transition to low carbon status.
Experts say Africa is moving into a new phase that could see the continent become a major player in the transition to a global inclusive green economy, but to do that, it needs a healthy population with guaranteed access to well-managed natural resources.
UNEP contend that accelerating the transition to low carbon economies will unleash employment opportunities and in turn boost countries' social and political cohesion. (Xinhua)
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
