{"id":90052,"date":"2022-07-01T14:39:21","date_gmt":"2022-07-01T12:39:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/edu.danwatch.dk\/?post_type=perspektiv&p=90052"},"modified":"2023-02-27T11:49:47","modified_gmt":"2023-02-27T10:49:47","slug":"brud-pa-menneskerettigheder-bremser-den-gronne-omstilling-i-kenya","status":"publish","type":"perspektiv","link":"https:\/\/edu.danwatch.dk\/en\/perspektiv\/brud-pa-menneskerettigheder-bremser-den-gronne-omstilling-i-kenya\/","title":{"rendered":"Violations of human rights are delaying the green transition in Kenya"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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If you drive through Hell\u2019s Gate National Park in Kenya, past zebras, gazelles and giraffes, you eventually arrive at one of the country\u2019s largest geothermal power stations \u2013 Olkaria IV. This power station, which was developed by the state-owned company KenGen back in 2014, is today an essential source of energy for thousands of Kenyans.<\/span><\/p>

However, the development of the power station has not been without problems and controversies. The project led to over 1.200 members of the Maasai community, an indigenous population, being forcibly resettled. Human rights defenders who protested against the project were arrested, and some were even subjected to police brutality.<\/span><\/p>

The story about the development of the Olkaria IV power station is one of the examples highlighted in a new <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> from Business and Human Rights Resource Center (BHRRC).<\/span><\/p>

The report looks at a number of renewable energy projects in Kenya, to investigate which problems and opportunities there are, to ensure that the transition to renewable energy in Africa is both fast and just.<\/span><\/p>

According to Joseph Kibugu, who as a consultant has been part of preparing the report, there are two important messages within it:<\/span><\/p>

  1. We must transition to renewable energy fast<\/span><\/li>
  2. The transition must be just and human rights compliant<\/span><\/li><\/ol>

    \u201cIf not, we will have a scenario where companies\u2019 failure to respect human rights will end up delaying the green transition\u201d, says Joseph Kibugu.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    A necessary shift<\/h4>

    The conversation about climate change is central to the African continent. It is well documented that Africa has not contributed as much to global CO2 emissions as other continents, and by no means as much as Europe. According to the UN\u2019s environmental programme, <\/span>UNEP<\/span><\/a>, Africa has only contributed to around two to three percent of the global CO2-emissions.<\/span><\/p>

    In spite of this, global warming impacts countries in Africa disproportionally. This has been documented in reports prepared by a range of different organizations, like the <\/span>UN<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>World Metrological Organization<\/span><\/a>, and <\/span>the World Bank<\/span><\/a>.<\/span><\/p>

    Specifically, global warming and a rise in temperature is resulting in threats to health and safety, lack of access to water and food, and challenges for economic development in Africa.<\/span><\/p>

    This is one part of the conversation.<\/span><\/p>

    On the other side, there is also a real opportunity that Africa can become central to the green transition. There are several reasons for this.<\/span><\/p>

    First and foremost, there are a number of minerals, which are essential to green technologies, such as cobalt, nickel, copper and lithium \u2013 which Africa is a <\/span>significant<\/span><\/a> source to.<\/span><\/p>

    These are the minerals that are needed in, amongst other, electric vehicles, solar panels and windmills.<\/span><\/p>

    \u201cSo you have a real opportunity that Africa can contribute to addressing the question of climate change through extraction\u201d, Joseph Kibugu from BHRRC explains.<\/span><\/p>

    But, in addition to this, it is also a question of the need for energy that there is in Africa. According to a new <\/span>report<\/span><\/a> by the Mo Ibrahim Foundation, 44,3% of the population in Africa have no access to electricity \u2013 we are talking about over 600 million people.<\/span><\/p>

    There is therefore a pressing need to increase the energy access on the continent, and there is a real possibility that this can come from renewable energy sources. There are good conditions to develop both solar, wind and geothermal energy in several places on the African continent.<\/span><\/p>

    This results in a nexus between need and opportunity in Africa, says Kibugu \u2013 there is a need for energy access, and an opportunity that this energy need can be met with renewable energy sources.<\/span><\/p>

    Kenya is a great example of exactly this. In Kenya <\/span>70%<\/span><\/a> of the electricity comes from renewable energy. Whether we are talking about geothermal power stations, windmills or solar energy.<\/span><\/p>

    This is why the new report from the BHRRC focuses on Kenya. The report looks at a number of green energy projects in the country \u2013 to investigate what lessons can be learned from Kenya, in relation to ensuring a fast and just transition.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Those who pay the price<\/h4>

    \u201cKenya can offer important lessons to the rest of Africa in terms of the transition to renewable energy\u201d, Kibugu explains.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

    This is because, concurrently with large sums being used to develop renewable energy sources in Kenya, it is also a development which has brought severe challenges.<\/span><\/p>

    Building a wind farm, for example, demands that you have access to a large area of land, where you can put up the windmills. And this is a reality which has caused protests from local communities several times in Kenya.<\/span><\/p>

    Danwatch<\/span><\/a> has previously written about the Kenyan Lake Turkana Wind Power Project. A project, where 365 gigantic windmills were put on land which had been given to the developers of the wind farm illegally. The land belonged to the indigenous peoples of Marsabit County, who because of the wind farm lost their access to the land, and with that, their way of life and their livelihoods.<\/span><\/p>

    This is also one of the examples which are brought up in BHRRC\u2019s new report. The report demonstrates that the issues that arose with the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project are not unique. On the contrary. Problems in relation to land rights is an issue which is recurrent in all the examples that are examined in the report.<\/span><\/p>

    This is about communities, Kibugu explains, who are telling companies, \u201cyou have gotten this land from the government, but we have not been involved\u201d. Or who are saying, \u201cyou are offering us compensation, but we do not agree that it is sufficient compensation\u201d.<\/span><\/p>

    Essentially you have local communities who are protesting against the way in which their land is being appropriated, or the way in which they are displaced from the land on which they have always lived.<\/span><\/p>

    And there are good reasons for this, Kibugu says. \u201cViolations of land rights impact a number of other rights, like housing, access to water and food, and generally impact communities\u2019 livelihoods\u201d.<\/span><\/p>

    This is why the problems around land rights are emphasized in the report.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    The domino effect<\/h4>

    It is not only land rights that have been violated during Kenya\u2019s green transition.<\/span><\/p>

    BHRRC have documented that renewable energy projects in Kenya are also connected to attacks on human rights defenders, lack of access to information, and violations of indigenous peoples rights.<\/span><\/p>

    \u201cLand rights are central to this conversation, and how it impacts other rights. And this is compounded by a lack of credible grievance mechanisms, lack of justice, and a feeling that these projects are benefiting others than the local communities themselves\u201d, Kibugu emphasizes.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    FACTS<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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    Human rights violations connected to renewable energy projects in Kenya<\/h2>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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    Hold the cursor over the map to see a description of the human rights violations that have been linked to some of the green energy projects in Kenya and what significance it has had for the projects.\n