NAIROBI, July 31 (Xinhua) -- 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.
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.
Mrema encouraged the local private sector to embrace sustainable practices, invest in clean energy and climate-resilient supply chains as part of their contribution to hastening the green transition. ■
