In North America, tens of millions of people have been affected by Canadian wildfire smoke. The situation has worsened recently as several states in the US, such as New York, which had the worst air quality of any big city in the world on the Air Quality Index (AQI) as of June, have issued air quality alerts. Even though wildfires are part of the ecosystem, it is clear that the climate crisis continues to make them more intense and frequent.
Climate change is changing the world, and its impact is evident around the globe. Despite not facing environmental catastrophes such as wildfires, Africa has not been spared. The continent has faced prolonged drought, heat waves, floods, and population displacement, coming out as one of the most vulnerable regions in the world due to the climate crisis. This is the case even though Africa only accounts for less than 3% of the world’s total emissions.
As the climate crisis continues to intensify wildfires and cause a decline in air quality due to pollution, Africa needs to ensure matters do not get worse on its shores. And this is achievable by reducing and eliminating greenhouse gas emissions. Kenya, for instance, has been one of the leading African countries in the shift to clean energy. According to the World Bank, Kenya has succeeded in developing a well-diversified power generation mix. About 90% of the electricity being generated is from clean sources, with geothermal accounting for 48%, hydro (33%), and wind (12%)
This has resulted in Kenya being well on its way to achieving a fully green grid by 2030. Kenya’s economy currently accounts for only 0.1% of global emissions annually. However, this does not mean the fight for global warming should stop. Greenhouse gas emissions have been on the rise in the country, with agriculture contributing the most, 40%, while land use and land use change, forest (33%), and transport (11%).
The country needs to invest more in renewables and greening transport and logistics operations to achieve a 100% clean energy supply. The government has implemented projects such as the Least Cost Power Development Plan (LCPDP) to transition from all fossil fuel-powered plants fully. According to the world bank, 100% clean energy generation is attainable for Kenya, with diesel generation being phased out entirely and nuclear energy and natural gas coming online soon.
There is also a need to lower the carbon footprint of transport and logistics operations in the country. Kenya still relies much on fossil fuel, as over 80% of traffic and 76% of freight uses trucks and motor vehicles heavily dependent on fossil fuel for domestic and international freight movements. Freight and passenger movements are Kenya’s primary consumers of petroleum fuel, accounting for a significant portion of emissions.
The country has set up a number of strategies to tackle the issue of transport and logistics emissions. For instance, in its National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), various low-carbon measures and actions are outlined, including improving the efficiency of heavy-duty vehicles, shifting containerized freight from road to rail, electrifying the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard Gauge Railway (SGR), adopting low-carbon technologies in aviation and maritime sectors, implementing the Bus Rapid Transit system in the Nairobi metropolitan area and conducting pilot projects on electric vehicle.
In reducing emissions, the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) is installing a solar plant and using solar-powered equipment at airports. It has developed sustainable concessionaire policies to encourage using low/zero emission vehicles and equipment. The government has also encouraged the adoption of e-mobility.
According to the World Bank, e-mobility would enable the achievement of higher vehicle kilometres travelled (VKT), which would result in additional fuel savings, reducing traffic congestion and air pollution. The transition to electric vehicles could also assist with maintaining a low-carbon development pathway. E-vehicles could reduce 5.13 million tCO2e emissions and 27 thousand tonnes of emission of local pollutants and reduced fuel consumption of 161 million litre of gas and 37 million liters of diesel by 2030.
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