STORY: Kenya banks on private sector to scale up green financing
DATELINE: Aug. 1, 2023
LENGTH: 00:02:32
LOCATION: Nairobi
CATEGORY: ECONOMY/ENVIRONMENT
 
SHOTLIST:
1. various of conference banners
2. various of conference exteriors
3. various of conference
4. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SOIPAN TUYA, Cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry
5. various of attendees at the conference
6. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ELIZABETH MREMA, UNEP's deputy executive director
7. various of attendees at the conference
 
STORYLINE:
 
The Kenyan government has come up with a raft of policy and regulatory incentives to encourage the private sector to invest in the green economy and tame the escalating climate crisis, a senior official said Monday.
 
Soipan Tuya, cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, said that by tapping into capital, technology and skilled manpower from the local private sector, the country's green transition will be accelerated.
 
"We are committed to re-engineering climate action by pulling resources from industry and pursuing a low-carbon development pathway," Tuya told a high-level roundtable for business leaders convened by Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.
 
SOUNDBITE 1 (English): SOIPAN TUYA, Cabinet secretary in the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change and Forestry
"There cannot be a climate action discussion without agriculture at the core of it. So, we're saying Africa presents potential of its arable land which, if sustainably exploited, Africa can feed the whole world with least emissions. There is also an opportunity provided by our carbon sinks as I have mentioned, an investment in forestry. These are the directions and opportunities that we would like Kenyans and by extension, Africa's private sector to look at."
 
The roundtable on climate action and green growth was a precursor to the Africa Climate Summit scheduled for Sept. 4-6 and organized by the Kenyan government and multilateral partners.
 
Tuya said the Kenyan government will raise the visibility of carbon offset projects and nature-based investments like reforestation to attract capital from the private sector.
 
KEPSA CEO Carole Kariuki said Kenyan business leaders are committed to confronting the climate crisis through investments in green technologies, renewable energy, circular economy and habitat restoration.
 
Kariuki noted that by investing in green goods and services, capacity-building and reskilling of workforce, the local private sector will boost decarbonization of key economic sectors like manufacturing, agriculture and tourism.
 
Elizabeth Mrema, the UNEP's deputy executive director, said that by investing in programs that tackle the triple planetary crises of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution, Kenyan businesses will be guaranteed long-term profit and growth.
 
SOUNDBITE 2 (English): ELIZABETH MREMA, UNEP's deputy executive director
"It's important to really commit ourselves to actually continue with those innovations and taking those innovative solutions to really enable us to reach there. I am delighted the private sector is playing that role effectively to do so."
 
Mrema encouraged the local private sector to embrace sustainable practices, and invest in clean energy and climate-resilient supply chains as part of their contribution to hastening the green transition.
 
Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Nairobi.
(XHTV)