The impact of climate policies on Kenya’s development: Analysing the trade-offs

Author: Uday Makokha Keya
Third-year law student, Kabarak University

“African countries are bearing the brunt of the climate crisis and for this reason, we believe it is time we have a conversation on carbon tax.^[1]”

This echo’s president William Ruto’s speech on climate change sometime last year. Following this speech Kenya introduced tax on machines and motor vehicles based on the engine capacity of the vehicle,^[2] and additional charges commodities that have a negative impact on the environment.^[3]

The imposition of the eco levy has the potential to result in a low rate of development in the country as it will decrease the rate of industrialisation, since many industries use heavy machinery. This is also evident by the increased tread towards automation and robotics even by service industries.^[4] Consequently, enacting these laws, could limit the use of machines that have a negative impact on the environment and may lead to underdevelopment as most investors may be discouraged from investing in industries in the country.

Therefore, the government should be very cautious in imposing carbon tax on motor vehicles and other additional charges on products and machines with a negative impact on the environment, so as not to disadvantage the importation of these machines and consequently the development of the country. Even if this tax is imposed in the country, it will have minimal effect on curbing climate change since Kenya is a minute contributor to climate change^[5] . Imposing these taxes will potentially slow down the rate of development of the nation, leaving the country underdeveloped.

Alternatively, the government might seek compensation from developed states to through the Loss and Damage Fund to mitigate the effect of climate change, since they are major contributors of climate change, yet are minimally affected by climate change.

To provide some context to these suggestions, in December 1997, representatives from 150 countries across the world met in Kyoto Japan, and discussed the threat of global warming.^[6] It was agreed that developing countries would adopt voluntary reduction targets to reduce the rate of climate change.^[7] Most of the developed countries agreed that between the year 2008 and 2012, they should have significantly reduced their carbon dioxide emissions.^[8] The agreement reached was on the basis of ensuring that while there is a consensus on how to curb climate change, this should not constrain developing countries from developing since they contribute minimally to climate change.^[9] It would therefore not be reasonable for developing countries to be required to impose measures with the same implications as developed nations.

Africa contributes less than 4% of carbon emissions as a result of its undeveloped status.^[10] This makes it a lesser contributor to climate change. Consequently, legislators in Kenya ought to take cognisance of Africa’s minimal contribution to climate change when making climate policies. The low percentage of emissions in the environment by African countries is as a result of its underdevelopment and imposing carbon tax could be ineffective, since it may result in a minimal impact in combating climate change.

Consequently, the harmful impacts of climate change does not warrant Kenya to impose equal policy measures as developed nations in combating climate change. Kenya’s current policy outlook ironically equates favourably to other developed nations in Europe which are highly industrialised.^[11] This is unfair since these countries are highly developed and own large industries which contribute a large percentage of CO2 to the environment. For instance, one report estimates that from 1750 to about 2023, twenty seven of the fifty European states accounted for around 20% of the cumulative carbon dioxide emissions in the environment globally.^[12] This justifies the climate policies employed in those countries. Therefore, it would be wrong to employ the same measures employed in developed nations in African countries such as Kenya, which are minute contributors to climate change.

Lastly, the government should seek compensation from these nations. The compensation might be sought in several ways. It may be through seeking for them to offset carbon iv oxide (CO2) from the environment. The state might seek developed nations to plant trees in Kenya or abroad, and to invest in renewable energy projects to tackle the threat of climate change.^[13] Further, it may seek compensation in the form of monetary funds through the Loss and Damage Fund alluded to earlier, to mitigate the effects of climate change on the environment.

In conclusion, the legislation to impose carbon tax on motor vehicles and on commodities with negative impact on the environment might be ineffectual in curbing climate change since Kenya contributes a small percentage of climate change. A more effective means, and a win-win situation is, seeking compensation from developed nations to mitigate effects of climate change.

^[1] A wasike, ‘Kenyan president proposes carbon tax to mitigate climate effects’ Anadolu Ajansi, 09 September 2023 https://www.aa.com.tr/en/africa/kenyan-president-proposes-carbon-tax-to-mitigate-climate-effects/2984043 (Accessed 21 September 2024)

^[2] kenya Finance Bill 2024, Section 9(12H)(3).

^[3] Kenya Finance Bill 2024, Section 45(7B)(3).

^[4] M Jiang, R Wang, R Wood, K Rasul, B Zhu, and E Hertwich, ‘Material and Carbon Footprints of Machinery Capital’ Environmental science & technology, 2023, https://pubs.acs.org/doi/epdf/10.1021/acs.est.3c06180?ref=article_openPDF (Accessed 21 September 2024)

^[5] AJLabs, ‘How much does Africa contribute to global carbon emissions?’, ALJAZEERA, 4 Sep 2023 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/4/how-much-does-africa-contribute-to-global-carbon-emissions  accessed  29 June 2024.

^[6]   V Tanzi, ‘Carbon Taxes: Their Macroeconomic effects and Prospects for Global Adoption-a survey of the literature’, May  1998  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/wp9873.pdf Accessed 21 september 2024

^[7]  V Tanzi, ‘Carbon Taxes: Their Macroeconomic effects and Prospects for Global Adoption-a survey of the literature’, May  1998  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/wp9873.pdf (Accessed 21 september 2024)

^[8]   V Tanzi, ‘Carbon Taxes: Their Macroeconomic effects and Prospects for Global Adoption-a survey of the literature’, May  1998  https://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/wp/wp9873.pdf (Accessed 21 september 2024)

^[9]  AJLabs, ‘How much does Africa contribute to global carbon emissions?’, ALJAZEERA, 4 Sep 2023 https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/9/4/how-much-does-africa-contribute-to-global-carbon-emissions (Accessed 29 June 2024)

^[10] Paul Adjei Kwakwa ‘Climate change mitigation role of renewable energy consumption: Does institutional quality matter in the case of reducing Africa’s carbon dioxide emissions?’, Journal of Environmental Management, 15, September, 2023 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37327731/(Accessed 21 September 2014)

^[11] Kenya Finance Bill 2024, Section 45(7B)(3).

^[12] R Vetterle, ‘Which European Countries are the Worst Climate Polluters, and Why?’, CCPI, 8 March 2023 https://ccpi.org/which-european-countries-are-the-worst-climate-polluters-and-why/ (Accessed 30 June 2024)

^[13] Pooja Patwari, ‘Advantages And Importance Of Renewable Energy’, AVAADA, September 13, 2023 -<https://avaada.com/advantages-and-importance-renewable-energy/>- On 29 June 2024

About the Author:

Uday Makokha Keya is a third-year law student at Kabarak University. He serves as Associate Editor for Kabarak Law Review