What has carbon talk to do with Kenya?

As the current Kyoto Protocol that governs protection against global warming expires in 2012 and a new one is negotiated in December in Copenhagen, we need to understand the implications of the carbon debate on Kenya.

Ministries with direct influence on carbon management are those responsible for Energy, Transport, Industry, Forestry and Agriculture.

Why carbon? There is a blanket layer up there called ozone which protects the earth from the direct impact of the sun’s rays and thus moderates the surface’s warming. Reduced ozone protection has over time resulted in higher temperatures that have an adverse climatic impact on the earth.

Carbon dioxide (also referred to as carbon) is a key member of a category of gases (called greenhouse gases GHGs) that damage the ozone layer, thus reducing its effect. Reduction of carbon dioxide is what the carbon debate is mainly about.

Reference to simple science and biology reminds us that we burn fuels to produce energy (heat, transportation, and industries) and in case of animal bodies they burn food to produce energy.

In producing energy, oxygen is used and carbon dioxide is produced. Also, plants absorb carbon dioxide during the day to produce carbohydrates.
Carbon management is therefore all about limiting the amount of carbon dioxide produced and also increasing the vegetation that absorbs some of the carbon dioxide.

If nature was allowed to perform its duties uninfluenced by human activity, there would have been no excess carbon dioxide to interfere with the ozone layer.

Excessive carbon production has been mainly due to man-made activities, and its generation can be controlled by man. Whereas excessive carbon has direct negative impact on the globe, its management can present opportunities for all mankind, Kenyans included.

That is why we need to plan to incorporate carbon reduction management in our national economic planning and budgeting.

When experts meet in Copenhagen later this year, the key debate will likely be on how to equitably share the burden of carbon reduction among nations.
It was different in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol was negotiated as a number of key countries, notably the US and multinational oil companies, had doubts about the effects of carbon on climate change.

The main generation of carbon is through the use of various forms of fossil fuels (coal, petroleum, natural gas) to generate energy.

The fuels have varying amounts of carbon, with coal having the highest and natural gas the least. When we talk of green energy options, we are referring to using various forms of energy that have less or no carbon implications.

Some fuels are greener than others, depending on how much less carbon they produce when burned. In Kenya, electricity generation from hydro, wind, solar and geothermal present options with virtually no direct carbon production and these are therefore green.

Going green on electricity generation therefore has a positive impact for Kenya as it replaces the more expensive oil for electricity generation, reducing emissions as well as sorting out the global warming problem.

Use of biomass to produce electricity, and the proposed use of natural gas for power generation, produces less carbon than the use of fossil oil, and are therefore greener options.