EMBU, Kenya, BONN Germany (PAMACC News) - Over 4000 smallholder farmers who practice Regenerative Agriculture in Embu County have enrolled to a project that will see them start earning annual income just for having particular trees on their farms.

This comes as Africa Group of Negotiators at the ongoing climate talks in Bonn, Germany strive to come up with rules that ensure fairness in the carbon markets particularly for smallholders in less developed countries.                                                                                                  

Through an initiative by the Dutch based Rabobank to trade Carbon Removal Units (CRUs), dubbed Agroforestry CRUs for the Organic Restoration of Nature (ACORN), 4,096 farmers from the county will soon start earning not less than 20 Euros (Sh3000) per ton of carbon stored in trees on their farms when their carbon credits get monetized.

“ACORN will remotely measure the sequestered carbon and sell the CRUs in the voluntary carbon market,” said Patrick Nyaga of Farm Africa, which is implementing the project in collaboration with the County Government of Embu.

He pointed out that a farmer with180 mix of agroforestry trees such as Glericidia, Calliandra, Sesbania, Leucaena, Acacia, fruit and nut trees on one hectare of land will stand a chance to earn at least 120 Euros (Sh18,000) per year per hectare depending on the size and type of the trees on the farm.

In this scheme, farmers will receive up to 80 percent of the sales of the CRUs where each CRU represents one ton of carbon dioxide that has been removed from the atmosphere and stored into tree biomass. The payment will be partly in cash and partly in-kind (form of seedlings or beehives).

Recent transactions in the carbon market were between 20 Euros (Sh3,000) to 31 Euros (Sh4,650) per CRU. Based on the prevailing prices, an average farmer in Embu County can sequester between zero and six CRUs per year, which translates to a maximum of Sh27,900, and a minimum or Sh18,000 for the best performing farmers.

“However, given the unique circumstances of every farmer and plot of land, no specific numbers can be given at the moment,” said Nyaga.

Carbon markets, according to the United Nations (UN) are trading systems in which carbon credits are sold and bought. A carbon credit is therefore a reduction or removal of emissions of carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases made in order to compensate for emissions made elsewhere.

However, some African civil society activists have observed that the carbon credits are underpriced, and therefore a false solution for African smallholders. “This is a situation where these smallholders are actually being paid by someone else to carry their responsibility for polluting the environment consequently causing climate change,” Charles Mwangi, the Head of Programs and Research at the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) told PAMACC at the SB Climate Conference in Bonn.

“Here at PACJA, we have our reservations because if this is supposed to be a business, we believe smallholders are investing so much in terms of manpower, the cost of maintaining the trees, and most important, the foregone investments on the land were the trees are planted for the sake of carbon sequestration, yet they end up earning so little for every ton of carbon that is absorbed by the trees,” he told the Climate Action Magazine at the ongoing UN Conference on Climate Change in Bonn, Germany.

However, he noted that the only advantage is that the schemes, which also include the REDD+ are giving the African smallholders an opportunity to sustainably manage the forest ecosystems and biodiversity, but “we cannot afford to do that solely because of carbon credits,” said Mwangi.

So far, the UN reports that the current supply of voluntary carbon credits comes mostly from private entities that develop carbon projects, or governments that develop programs certified by carbon standards that generate emission reductions and/or removals.

And the demand for those carbon credits comes from corporate entities especially in the developed world who are emitting volumes of carbon, but would like to compensate for their carbon footprints. It also included corporations with corporate sustainability targets, and other actors aiming to trade credits at a higher price to make a profit.

Generally, carbon is captured from the atmosphere and stored in trees, and can only be released back to the atmosphere when the trees are burned in form of firewood or charcoal. Fruit trees can therefore store carbon for a very long time because the primary objective is to harvest fruits and nuts, and not to cut down the trees for fuel.

“In our project here in Embu, the minimum approved piece of land is 0.1 hectares, and the maximum is 10 hectares,” said Njagi.

One of the eligibility criteria is that farmers must have new agroforestry and/or existing agroforestry trees planted within the past five years, as a way of motivating farmers to plant as many trees as possible so as to increase the volume of carbon to be captured, which will be translated into cash.

To succeed in mobilising the farmers, Farm Africa engaged the services of Village Based Advisors (VBAs) – who are trained but commercially motivated private agricultural extension service providers, to do ecological zoning and to collect data from eligible participants.

“All farmer information was captured through a mobile phone App, which then relayed the data to ACORN data bank in the real-time, thereby linking the farm to remote sensing tools,” said Moses Mbogo, one of the VBAs in Embu County.

According to Muthoni Nyaga, another VBA from the area, women are currently the most proactive farmers in the project. “Most of the farmers we registered are women, and this went down well for us because ownership of the land title deed was not a must as long as the farmer can formally or informally prove that they are owners of the piece of land,” she said.

Steve Njagi, an Agricultural Officer in Embu County observed that the motivation for farmers to plant more agroforestry trees for carbon credit is a good mitigation measure for the climate emergency.

“This is in line with the government’s agenda to plant 5 billion trees as a way of combating climate change,” said Njagi.

A recent report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has pointed out that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – which includes carbon dioxide are still rising across all major sectors globally, and this is going to have devastating impact especially on the African continent in the near future.

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The Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) are an integral part of the Bonn Climate Change Conference. They consist of two bodies: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). These bodies support the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The SBs take place every year, in many cases during the month of June, and they always happen at the World Conference Centre in Bonn, Germany. Whatever is passed during the Bonn conference, forms the agenda for the next Conference of Parties (COP), usually held between the months of November and December, and it rotates every year from one part of the world to another.

Here are five facts you need to know:

1. The SBs meet twice a year: during the Bonn Climate Change Conference and COP

   They discuss and negotiate various aspects of climate change mitigation, adaptation, finance, capacity-building, technology transfer, and now, loss and damage. The meetings typically take place in June and November/December. The SBs work separately, but have joint agendas as they cooperate on cross-cutting issues within the areas of competence of both bodies.

2. The SBI focuses on the implementation of climate policies and actions

   Its meetings include discussions on mitigation, adaptation, reporting and review processes, as well as on financial mechanisms and capacity-building initiatives. The SBI meeting plays a crucial role in enhancing transparency and accountability in the global climate change response.

3. The SBSTA provides scientific and technological advice for implementing the Paris Agreement and other climate policy processes

   It assesses the latest scientific findings, technological advancements and transfer, as well as methodologies and guidelines relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation. It also fosters inter-institutional collaboration in the field of research and systematic observation of the climate system.

4. The SBs play a vital role in preparing the agenda and decisions for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP)

   COP is the highest decision-making body under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The SBs provide technical expertise and recommendations that shape the negotiations and outcomes of COP. The SBs also inform the CMA (Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement) and the CMP (Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol). The CMA oversees the implementation of the Paris Agreement and takes decisions to promote its effective implementation, whereas the CMP does this for the Kyoto Protocol.

5. The Bonn Climate Change Conference serves as a platform to advance the global climate agenda

   It is a meeting point for governments, civil society organizations, scientists, and other stakeholders to come together. The Conference provides opportunities for dialogue, knowledge sharing, capacity-building and consensus-building among parties involved in the UNFCCC process.

The Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) are an integral part of the Bonn Climate Change Conference. They consist of two bodies: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). These bodies support the work of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The SBs take place every year, in many cases during the month of June, and they always happen at the World Conference Centre in Bonn, Germany. Whatever is passed during the Bonn conference, forms the agenda for the next Conference of Parties (COP), usually held between the months of November and December, and it rotates every year from one part of the world to another.

Here are five facts you need to know:

1. The SBs meet twice a year: during the Bonn Climate Change Conference and COP

   They discuss and negotiate various aspects of climate change mitigation, adaptation, finance, capacity-building, technology transfer, and now, loss and damage. The meetings typically take place in June and November/December. The SBs work separately, but have joint agendas as they cooperate on cross-cutting issues within the areas of competence of both bodies.

2. The SBI focuses on the implementation of climate policies and actions

   Its meetings include discussions on mitigation, adaptation, reporting and review processes, as well as on financial mechanisms and capacity-building initiatives. The SBI meeting plays a crucial role in enhancing transparency and accountability in the global climate change response.

3. The SBSTA provides scientific and technological advice for implementing the Paris Agreement and other climate policy processes

   It assesses the latest scientific findings, technological advancements and transfer, as well as methodologies and guidelines relevant to climate change mitigation and adaptation. It also fosters inter-institutional collaboration in the field of research and systematic observation of the climate system.

4. The SBs play a vital role in preparing the agenda and decisions for the annual Conference of the Parties (COP)

   COP is the highest decision-making body under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The SBs provide technical expertise and recommendations that shape the negotiations and outcomes of COP. The SBs also inform the CMA (Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement) and the CMP (Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol). The CMA oversees the implementation of the Paris Agreement and takes decisions to promote its effective implementation, whereas the CMP does this for the Kyoto Protocol.

5. The Bonn Climate Change Conference serves as a platform to advance the global climate agenda

   It is a meeting point for governments, civil society organizations, scientists, and other stakeholders to come together. The Conference provides opportunities for dialogue, knowledge sharing, capacity-building and consensus-building among parties involved in the UNFCCC process.

BONN, Germany (PAMACC News) - The Climate Change envoy to the President of Kenya has asked Kenya’s and by extension Africa’s negotiators at the ongoing climate conference in Bonn, Germany not to put much emphasis on financing of the Loss and Damage kitty, but instead calls for fairness and equity.

“Loss and damage remains an important issue, we hope it will be operationalised in Dubai, but whatever amount that may go to the kitty, will not take us anywhere as a global community,” Ali Mohamed, who advises the President on matters climate change told the Kenya’s delegation in Bonn, shortly after President William Ruto demanded that COP-28 be the last round of global negotiations on climate change.

The Loss and Damage funding is an agreement reached upon during the 27^th round of climate negotiations in Egypt to support vulnerable countries hit hard by climate disasters that include cyclones, floods, severe droughts, landslides, heat waves among others.

During the opening ceremony of the UN Habitat Assembly in Nairobi, President Ruto said that it is possible to stop the conversation and the negotiation between North and the South because “climate change is not a North/South problem, it is not about fossil fuel verses green energy problem, it is a problem that we can sort out all of us if we came together,” said Ruto, the current Chair of the Committee of African Heads of State and Government on Climate Change (CAHOSCC).

According to Ruto, it is possible (for African negotiators) to agree on a framework that will bring everybody on board for the continent to go to COP28 with a clear mind on what should be done, and how Africa and the global South can work with the global North, not as adversaries, but as partners to resolve the climate crisis and present an opportunity to have a win-win outcome that has no finger pointing.

In Bonn, Mohamed, who is also the formwe Permanent Secretary (PS) for the Ministry of Environment and Forestry told the Kenya’s negotiators that as Africans, there is need to raise voices and call for a new global architecture and a new way of doing things.

 He gave an example of the Special Drawing Rights (SDR) during the period of COVID-19, where Europe, which has a population of 500 million people, received over 40 percent, while the entire African continent with a population of 1.2 billion people received a paltry five percent of the total funds.

“This kind of unfairness is what President Ruto wants to take forward and say it is no longer tenable in the new world order,” said Mohamed, who is vying to become the next Chair of the Africa Group of Negotiators (AGN) for the next three years.

The SDR is an interest-bearing international reserve asset that supplements other reserve assets of member countries. Rather than a currency, it is a claim on the freely useable currencies of International Monetary Fund (IMF) members.

He also gave an example of Berlin wall, which fell in 1989, and suddenly in just six months, a new financial architecture was formed for Europe.

He pointed out that since the ratification of the Paris Agreement, the world has been meeting every year to talk about the $100 billion which developed countries committed to collectively mobilise per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries, in the context of meaningful mitigation actions and transparency on implementation, but the funds have remained a mirage.

“What Africa is pushing for is investment through available, accessible and adequate financing at affordable costs. We borrow at an interest of 15 percent, on a currency that is not ours, while other countries in the North borrow at 2 percent,” said Mohamed.

The AGN Chair Mr. Ephraim Mwepya Shitima declined to comment on Kenya’s new position saying that it was beyond his powers to do so. “I am not in a position to comment on whatever has been said by a member of the CAHOSCC,” he told IPS in Bonn.

However, during the opening plenary, Shitima called on developed countries to deliver to restore trust in the UNFCCC process. “The Green Climate Fund replenishment is in October and this is an opportunity for developed countries to show the world that they are willing to do their part- to address climate change and support climate action in developing countries,” he told global delegates in Bonn. 

He also welcomed the work programme on just transitions pathways. “We are of the view that it will advance the implementation of climate action and strengthen the global response to the threat of climate change in the context of sustainable development. The Subsidiary conference here should agree on the work programme's elements, scope, and modalities to be adopted at COP28,” he said. 

The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) conference which is going down in Bonn is the link between the scientific information provided by expert sources such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the one hand, and the policy-oriented needs of the COP on the other hand. The outcome is therefore used to set the agenda for the subsequent COP based on scientific evidence.