Kenya unveils carbon market rule book and caps the overseas sale of carbon credits

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Kenya has introduced a cap on the amount of carbon emissions credits it will authorize for sale to overseas buyers, unveiling one of Africa’s most detailed rule books for international carbon trading.

The country has set a 10 million metric ton (11,023,113 ton) carbon dioxide equivalent budget for international carbon market transactions up to 2030. It establishes a ceiling against which every request will be assessed under the country’s new carbon markets guide.

The guide, released Monday, creates a framework for approving projects under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, which allows countries to trade emission reduction credits to help meet global climate targets.

“It introduces a national carbon budget for trading to safeguard our Nationally Determined Contribution," or NDC, Environment Cabinet Secretary Deborah Barasa said.

The Paris Agreement, signed just over a decade ago, commits countries to keeping the rise in global temperatures by the year 2100 compared with preindustrial times “well below” 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit), and says they will “endeavor to limit” them even more, to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

Kenya's carbon budget covers emissions reductions generated in the energy, transportation, industrial processes and waste sectors, with annual allocations capped at 1.67 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Officials say the cap is intended to prevent Kenya from overselling carbon credits that it may later need to meet its own NDC under the Paris Agreement.

The framework replaces an often uncertain approval process characterized by its three-stage decision pathway comprising No-Objection, Approval and Authorization.

“The guide establishes a national carbon budget for trading as a binding safeguard,” Environment and Climate Change Principal Secretary Festus Ng’eno said, adding that it provides state agencies with practical decision-making tools throughout a project’s life cycle.

The guide also introduces a conditional list of priority activities covering renewable energy, transportation and waste projects. Forests and other land-use projects are excluded for now while the country develops stronger baselines and data to manage reversal risks. Officials say inclusion on the list does not guarantee approval but is intended to speed the review of projects that align with Kenya’s development priorities.

Kenya has emerged as one of Africa’s largest carbon market destinations, attracting investments in clean cooking, renewable energy, mangrove restoration and forest conservation. The government says the new framework will improve investor confidence by making decisions more predictable while protecting climate integrity and ensuring local communities benefit from carbon market projects.

“Predictability, transparency, and institutional coherence are essential to attracting quality investment," Ng’eno said, adding that government decisions will be based on “clear, published criteria designed to deliver national benefits without compromising Kenya’s climate integrity.”

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FILE - Deborah Mlongo Barasa, Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry in Kenya, speaks during the launch of the National Carbon Registry in Nairobi, Kenya, Feb. 17, 2026. (AP Photo/Henry Naminde, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump’s administration has informed Congress that it intends to close five smaller U.S. embassies, consulates and other diplomatic missions in Africa, Asia and the Western Hemisphere, even as it steams ahead with plans to reopen shuttered posts in Libya and Syria and has reopened the long-closed embassy in Venezuela.

In separate notices sent late last week to lawmakers, the State Department said it would close the U.S. Embassy in the Caribbean island of Grenada; the consulates in Nagoya, Japan, and Medan, Indonesia; the American Presence Post in Winnipeg, Canada; and an embassy branch office in Douala, Cameroon.

The closures by the Republican administration are expected to save the government roughly $4.4 million per year, according to the notices obtained by The Associated Press. But the missions to be closed employ very few people compared with others.

The embassy in St. George’s, Grenada, and the consulate in Nagoya have only one American staffer and five local employees each. The consulate in Medan has four direct-hire U.S. staffers and 47 local employees. The Winnipeg post has only two local staffers, and the embassy office in Douala has only 14 local staffers.

The State Department announced plans earlier this year to permanently close the U.S. consulate in Peshawar, Pakistan, which was the closest diplomatic mission to Afghanistan since American troops withdrew in 2021.

The steps come as the department moves to streamline its operations at home and abroad, while investing millions of dollars into reopening the U.S. embassies in Caracas, Venezuela; Damascus, Syria; and Tripoli, Libya, to restore America’s formal diplomatic presence following the ouster of long-ruling autocrats in those countries.

This story has been corrected to show the Pakistani city’s name is Peshawar, not Peshwar.

FILE - The State Department seal is seen on the briefing room lectern at the State Department in Washington, Jan. 31, 2022. (Mandel Ngan, Pool via AP, File)