On July 1st 2025, Planet2050, in collaboration with BioCarbon Standard and CAMAK (Carbon Market Association of Kenya), had the pleasure of hosting an event in Nairobi, focused on accelerating access to finance for carbon projects in Kenya and East Africa.
The event gathered passionate voices from government, financiers, developers, NGOs, and the private sector, all united by a shared goal: making carbon finance not just accessible, but truly transformative for the region.
Key questions tackled key issues related to the development of carbon policies, Article 6 frameworks, local and rgional ecosystems, as well as the access to global markets, digital MRV and climate finance.
Speakers and moderators:
Mahlon Walo: CAMAK Chairman, Afrinet Carbon CEO
Lucas Zaehringer: Planet2050, Co-Founder & CEO
Fundile Maphanga: AlliedOffsets, Policy Lead
Kabaka Mutensa: BioCarbon Standard, Operations and Engagement Officer, Africa
Dr. Martin Oulu: ISFAA, Coordinator; University of Nairobi, Senior Lecturer
Dries Roobroeck: PlantVillage
Martin Kagocha: GIZ, Climate Finance Lead
Mahlon Walo, CAMAK Chairman presented Carbon Markets basics and important Climate Policy updates.
Kenya's NDC
In recent years Kenya has continued to solidify its position as a key player in global climate action, notably through its ambitious second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) released on April 30th, 2025, and robust domestic carbon market legislation.
Kenya's NDC 3.0 outlines a commitment to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 35% below a business-as-usual scenario by 2035, representing a notable increase in ambition compared to its previous targets.
A core focus of this updated NDC is the energy sector, with the transformative goal of achieving 100% renewable electricity on its national grid by 2035.
This commitment extends beyond mitigation, emphasizing comprehensive adaptation measures to build climate resilience across various sectors including agriculture, water access, disaster preparedness, and strengthening health systems and infrastructure.
The NDC 3.0 adopts a "whole-of-government" and "whole-of-society" approach, fostering coordinated and inclusive engagement across key sectors like energy, agriculture, transport, water, sanitation, waste management, and forestry.
Kenya estimated a total cost of implementation at approximately $62 billion USD between 2020 and 2030. This comprehensive figure was split between $17.7 billion USD for mitigation actions and a more significant $43.9 billion USD for adaptation needs.
Domestic resources are expected to cover only 21% of the cost. Meaning that international carbon finance availability will be key to achieve targets.
Climate Change Act
Central to Kenya's climate governance is the Climate Change (Amendment) Act, 2023, which strengthened the legal framework for climate action, followed by the landmark Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations, 2024, which officially came into effect on May 17, 2024.
These regulations establish a comprehensive legal and operational framework for carbon market activities across both voluntary and compliance markets, outlining guidelines for project developers to generate verified carbon credits and emission reductions under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
They officially designate the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) as the Designated National Authority (DNA). NEMA is tasked with overseeing carbon market transactions, maintaining a list of recognized carbon standards, and providing guidance on accurate carbon accounting and corresponding adjustments.
The head of the DNA also serves as the National Registrar for the National Carbon Registry, ensuring up-to-date, confidential project records and quarterly reporting. This national system is complemented by Sector Carbon Registries for key areas like energy, transport, and agriculture, managed by appointed Sector Registrars, ensuring granular and comprehensive tracking of carbon credits and mitigation outcomes across the Kenyan economy.
Carbon Market Perspectives
While the Voluntary Carbon Market (VCM) has historically been a limited contributor to Kenya’s external finance flows, accounting for only 3% (~$136 million USD) of external financial flows in 2023, the country aims to significantly leverage Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.
With an estimated decline of up to 20% in overseas development assistance (ODA) in 2025, carbon market mechanisms are poised to play an increasingly larger role.
Fundile Maphanga, Policy Lead at AlliedOffsets presented key historical and forecast market data related to Voluntary Carbon Market in Kenya.
The recording of a recent AlliedOffset's webinar on Kenya's VCM data is available here.
Dr. Martin Oulu shared his personal returns of experience supporting the development of carbon credit project through GIZ, and presented the new Kenya's Agroecology strategy.
The new National Agroecology Strategy for Food System Transformation (NAS-FST) 2024-2033 is a comprehensive plan to create a more sustainable, resilient, and equitable food system.
The strategy emphasizes a transition to agroecological approaches, promoting healthy and sustainable consumption, creating an enabling environment for these practices, strengthening research and innovation, and enhancing social equity through a collaborative, multi-stakeholder effort involving national and county governments, and non-state actors.
This new strategy holds significant potential for integration with carbon markets.
Agroecological practices, such as agroforestry (integrating trees into farming systems), improved soil management (e.g., cover cropping, reduced tillage, organic inputs), and regenerative agriculture, are inherently designed to enhance carbon sequestration in soils and biomass while reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural activities.
By promoting these methods, the NAS-FST directly supports the generation of high-integrity carbon credits, offering a new revenue stream for farmers.
BioCarbon's dMRV Working Group
Kabaka Mutsensa, Operations & Engagement Officer for BioCarbon Standard in Africa, announced the launch of the BioCarbon's digital Measurement, Reorting & Verification (MRV) Working Group.
This initiative will be coordinated with Planet2050. It aims at developing a robust roadmap for integrating digital tools and technologies to enhance the transparency and efficiency of environmental project data and support project developers throughout their lifecyle.
DMRV experts and providers can learn more and apply before July 31st here.
Planet2050's CDR Call for Applications
Planet2050 took the opportunity to announce the launch of our international Request for Proposals for permnent Carbon Dioxide Removals (CDR), relevant for the local market which counts several biochar producers as well as Direct Air Capture companies present during the event.
Project developers are invited to learn more and apply here until July 22nd.
Parallel group discussions helped dive further in they focus areas for scaling carbon markets.
Policy & Regulation are Paramount: there is an urgent need for Kenya to fast-track the operationalization of the Climate Change (Carbon Markets) Regulations. Aligning carbon markets with national and county development plans, and establishing a credible national carbon registry, are essential for transparency and building investor confidence.
Innovative Finance & De-risking: participants emphasized the power of blended finance tools – including first-loss capital, guarantees, and results-based finance – to de-risk investments. Local financial institutions (MFIs, SACCOs, Tier II banks) could be encouraged to develop carbon-linked loan products. Unlocking pre-financing and forward purchase agreements was highlighted as crucial for supporting developers.
Capacity Building is Key: from mastering MRV (Monitoring, Reporting, Verification) to refining business model design, there's a pressing need to enhance technical skills among project developers and financiers. Knowledge is the foundation for adoption of innovation monitoring and verification tools.
Streamlining Market Access: supporting the aggregation of small projects, facilitating access to reputable certification standards (such as Verra, Gold Standard, Plan Vivo), and connecting developers with international buyers through forward contracts and carbon marketplaces are vital steps.
Strengthening the Ecosystem: the vision of a regional carbon finance hub offering technical, legal, and matchmaking support gained strong traction. Multi-stakeholder coordination – involving governments, DFIs, the private sector, and NGOs – was identified as a cornerstone for success, together with the continuation of ecosystem inititives done among others by CAMAK.
High-Potential Sectors: carbon finance holds immense potential to drive scale in critical sectors like clean cooking, agroforestry, regenerative agriculture, waste-to-energy, and mini-grids. These initiatives are not just carbon projects; they are powerful livelihood solutions.
Looking Forward
The event underscored that while discussions are vital, the time for decisive action is now. Planet2050 is committed to continuing these crucial conversations and, more importantly, translating them into tangible support for project developers and innovative financing solutions.
We extend our sincere gratitude to CAMAK and BioCarbon Standard for their invaluable partnership, and to all speakers, attendees, and advisors who made this high-impact event possible.
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Read more insights on carbon markets at https://planet2050.earth/blog.
