If you have encountered national environmental disputes, you may have heard of the National Environment Tribunal in Kenya and wondered just where it falls in such matters. This guide discusses the composition and duties of this key tribunal as well as the role it plays in environmental management and conservation.
What are the Functions of the National Environment Tribunal in Kenya?
The National Environment Tribunal in Kenya consists of a chairperson and several members. These members are experts in key areas such as law, science, and environmental conservation. This tribunal is mandated to perform certain key functions under our laws, including the following:
- It hears and determines appeals from the National Environment Management Authority regarding environmental impact assessment reports, licenses, and orders issued by this authority.
- It hears and determines disputes relating to environmental pollution and environmental conservation amongst different parties.
In addition to these duties, the tribunal deals with any other matters that fall under the provisions of the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, 1999 (EMCA).
What Are Carbon Credits?
Carbon credits are often discussed in global climate conventions and are key to our environmental laws. But what are they? These are credits or rather, licenses, that are bought by companies to allow them to emit greenhouse gases to a certain level based on the number of carbon credits they have purchased. Companies that do not use all their credits can sell their surplus or remaining carbon credits to other companies that have reached their maximum emission level.
These credits are not a pass to pollute the environment. Instead, they are meant to incentivize and encourage companies to better use their resources and to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions so as to save on their carbon credits, as they can sell the same to other companies.
In a bid to encourage companies to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, incentives are often put in place to incentivize them to sustainably, efficiently, and effectively use their energy resources and to consider the use of natural renewable energy resources such as solar and wind.
How Do Carbon Credits Help The Local Kenyan Population And Communities?
In the big picture, carbon credits incentivize companies to conserve the environment so as to reduce their need for carbon credits. As such, they are essential in global environmental conservation. But how do Kenyans benefit?
Carbon credits are greatly helping our local Kenyan communities, as communities are encouraged to sustainably use their energy resources and avoid using energy resources that increase greenhouse gas emissions, such as firewood. These communities are also encouraged to protect and conserve their environment, such as forests, and to plant more trees in the environment.
They benefit from these efforts as they can sell carbon credits to companies that have used up their permitted carbon credits and have reached their licensed maximum gas emission levels. In this regard, these communities are paid for the carbon or greenhouse gas emissions. They can use these payments to fund local community projects such as the construction of schools, hospitals, markets, and to engage in any other activity or project that the community feels will help them and better their lives as a community.
It is hence clear from the above that the carbon credits markets and concepts are greatly helping our local communities and will continue helping them and encouraging them to sustainably use their natural resources prudently, which will result in more effective environmental management.
The National Environment Tribunal in Kenya on Carbon Credits
While carbon trading has positive impacts on communities, measures have been put in place to protect community interests. As such, before such trading can ensue, parties have to agree to a Community Development Agreement, which states the connections as well as the responsibilities of the project’s proponents on the public or community land where the project is taking place.
Per the Climate Change (Amendment) Act, 2023, land-based projects must carve out at least 40% of their aggregate earnings to go to their annual social contributions, while non-land-based projects work with a rate of 25%. Where disputes arise and are not solved within 30 days of their submission per the Community Development Agreement, the matter may be referred to the National Environment Tribunal in Kenya. Parties also have the option of using alternative dispute resolution mechanisms.