African leaders want to develop a continental carbon market to diversify sources of climate financing and limit disproportionate dependency on western initiatives.

While speaking at the Africa Business Forum, on February 20, President Lazarus Chakwera of Malawi urged the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), African Union, and Afreximbank to explore the feasibility of a carbon market in Africa.

ALSO READ: Rwanda set to debut on global carbon market

The forum, held under the theme “making Carbon Markets work for Africa”, brought together different African leaders, climate experts in different organizations, private stakeholders, among others.

Carbon market is basically a scheme of trading carbon credits which an entity gets by reducing emissions extensively beyond the required levels and selling them to those unable to meet their reduction requirements.

The main goal for the creation of carbon credits is the reduction of emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases from industrial activities to reduce the effects of global warming.

Now, while Africa contributes less than three per cent to global gas emissions, it has to adapt to climate change with limited access to funding including the unfair treatment on global carbon markets.

ALSO READ: African leaders want easier access to climate finance

Industrial carbon credit mainly from developed countries is sold for high prices amounting to over $40 per tonne, whereas, forest carbon credit that abounds in African and water ecosystems is consistently priced cheaply as low as $5 per tonne.

It is estimated that Africa will need around $438 billion in adaptation financing by 2030. This is while carbon markets could unleash an estimated annual $82 billion in value, at $120 per tonne of carbon emissions concealed, as well as create 167 million additional jobs.

President Chakwera said: “We strongly encourage the innovative instruments developed by ECA to support African regional carbon markets. We also urge ECA, AU, Afreximbank to accelerate plans to develop an African carbon market building from the regional carbon registry.”

“They should also explore the feasibility of building a compliant carbon market in certain African countries, particularly, those which have the potential to generate carbon emissions from the extractive industries,” he added.

Broadly, there are two types of carbon markets; Compliance markets –created as a result of any national, regional or international regulatory requirement and Voluntary carbon markets –referred to as the issuance, buying and selling of carbon credits on a voluntary basis at a national or international level.

In August 2022, Rwanda announced plans to debut on global carbon market with more than 16 projects available as they embrace market mechanisms agreed on by countries during the COP26 (Conference of Parties).

ALSO READ: 2022: A look at 15 major climate finance flows in Rwanda

Carlijn Nouwen, Co-founder of Climate Action Platform for Africa (CAP-A), emphasized that carbon markets could help drive socio-economic development and Africa is only scratching the surface.

In 2022, global trade in carbon amounted to $865 billion in compliance markets and $2 billion in voluntary markets. Only about 11 percent of all credits that were retired in voluntary Carbon Markets between 2011 and 2016 were African credits.

“That’s really missed opportunities because many African countries are considered to be really cost competitive locations for interventions that create carbon credits, thanks to low existing machine levels, and massive energy potential, young and fastest growing workforce, and relevant natural resources,” she said.

According to her, carbon markets can unlock finances for climate matter interventions but beyond that, such interventions can create new economic sectors and jobs, improve livelihoods, and solve intractable social problems such as energy poverty, pollution, among others. By Alice Kagina, The New Times

Both the EU and the Kenyan government announced they would resume talks on the deal known as the interim EU-Economic Partnership Agreement (iEU-EPA) this week before its conclusion in March. 

“We are resuming negotiations this week, and we hope these negotiations will be completed when the President (William Ruto) travels to the EU next month,” EU Ambassador to Kenya Henriette Geiger said.

“By the 31st of March, we must conclude our economic partnership agreement,” added Trade and Investments Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.

The interim agreement is expected to be a placeholder for the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) between the EU and the East African Community (EAC) countries, of which Kenya is a member. 

The interim pact will mirror the actual EPA initiated in 2014.  Kenya and Rwanda signed the deal in September 2016, but only Nairobi has ratified it, with other EAC partner states as holdouts.

This left the EU-EAC-EPA in limbo as it has been a prerequisite that the agreement is endorsed by all EAC member states for it to become effective.

The signing of the EPA deal was initially delayed because some states wanted a provision for special export taxes to protect certain sectors they consider sensitive and to discourage the exportation of raw materials to Europe.

Kenya’s neighbours, which are classified as least developed countries (LDCs), enjoy preferential access to the EU market. This has forced Kenya, a lower middle-income economy, to seek a temporary arrangement with the EU as its goods stood to attract higher taxes.

EU-Kenya forum 

“Our neighbours must aspire to rise from the least developed category. We cannot incentivise poverty,” said Trade CS.

President Ruto has urged the Kenyan and EU officials to close the deal during the negotiations set to happen at the sidelines of the inaugural EU-Kenya Business Forum, which runs on Monday and Tuesday this week.

“Doing business in Kenya is strategic and highly beneficial. It is in the EU’s best interest to complete the deal,” President Ruto said.

The temporary EU-Kenya deal is expected to liberalise trade in goods on a mutual basis, giving Kenya duty-free access to the EU market for all exports and partial and gradual opening of the Kenyan market, including agriculture and fishery products.

The interim pact will remain open for other EAC partner states to join.

EU is a key trading partner to Kenya and is the largest market for domestic exports.

Kenyan exports to the EU mainly cover coffee, cut flowers, tea and vegetables.

Imports from the EU broadly cover machinery and mechanical appliances, equipment and parts, vehicles and pharmaceutical products.

Kenya is also leading negotiations that will establish a tripartite deal between the EAC, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa), and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).  By KEPHA MUIRURI, Business Daily

Investigating cases of sodomy is still complicated for detectives because the majority of the victims are still shy to report, despite the escalation of the cases in the country, the Uganda Police Force-UPF has revealed.

According to Police Spokesperson Fred Enanga, many people have been coerced into sodomy but only a few individuals have filed complaints with the police. “The most important part is to encourage victims of sodomy to come out because there is always evidence that can help the police to progress with the investigations. It is easy to identify the perpetrators and whether they are linked to organizations or individuals,” Enanga said.

The call by the police follows two separate cases that were registered over the weekend. One of the cases in Mbarara city resulted in the arrest of Michael Saturday, a businessman in Nyamityobora for sexually harassing six of his male employees in the night.

“He was repeatedly sodomizing these boys who are below seventeen years and some above 18 years. But we want to thank one of the victims who came out and reported the matter, because he got the courage, that most victims haven’t taken to report these acts,” Enanga noted. He explained that the victims were subjected to medical examinations, which indeed showed that they were sodomized.

“The charges of aggravated defilement, rape, and engaging in unnatural sexual practices have been slapped on the suspect,” he said. Police also registered another case in Kasangati where suspect Jimmy Peter Matovu, 30, a resident of Lubatu zone attempted to forcefully sodomize his friend who visited him in the night.

“This is a man who picked a knife and put it on his friend’s neck at around 10pm and ordered him to undress so that he can sodomize him. But luckily this victim was strong enough and managed to fight his way out of the room, and made an alarm,” Enanga said.

He asked all victims of sodomy and other kinds of sexual abuse to always come out and report for assistance.

Recently, the NGO Bureau revealed that it was investigating the operations of 22 NGOs across the country suspected to be involved in the promotion of LGBTIQ activities. Police say they are still waiting for a call from the Internal Affairs Ministry to join the investigations.

According to Section 145 of the Penal Code Act, of 1950, it is criminal to have unnatural sexual intercourse and it attracts life imprisonment on conviction. It provides that “Any person who has carnal knowledge of any person against the order of nature commits an offense and is liable to imprisonment for life.” By URN, Tower Post