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

NAIROBI, Kenya -- 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 reduc...