Winds of Change: Kenya’s Lake Turkana Wind Power Project and its Impact on Climate Change Mitigation

Climate change is caused by greenhouse gases emitted by big corporations in wealthy nations. In the past, countries have begun to collaborate to mitigate and tackle climate change. On March 21, 1994 the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) entered into force. After this, the countries around the world agreed to tackle climate change and its adverse effects. The aim of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCC) is to prevent human interference with the climate system. The UNFCC’s’ main objective is to stabilize greenhouse gases at a level that would reduce dangerous interference with the climate system. The developed countries are expected to cut emissions and keep them at 1.5 degrees Celsius. The UNFCC has provided for certain principles, which, inter alia, include: 1. Protection of climate system for the benefit of present and future generations of humankind. 2. Parties should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent, or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. 3. The specific needs and special circumstances of developing country parties, especially those that would bear a disproportionate or abnormal burden under the Convention, should be given full consideration. 4. Parties have a right to, and should, promote sustainable development. 5. Parties should cooperate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all parties, particularly developing country parties, thus enabling them to better address the problems of climate change. Kenya recently held the Africa Climate Change Summit, which was the first of its kind to be held in Africa. The African leaders attending emphasized the importance of decarbonizing the global economy for quality prosperity around the globe. The leaders came up with the Nairobi Declaration, where they called upon the global community to act with urgency in reducing emissions, fulfilling its obligations, honoring past promises, and supporting the continent in addressing climate change. They also agreed to increase Africa’s renewable generation capacity from 56 Giga Watts (GW) in 2022 to at least 300 GW by 2030, both to address energy poverty and to bolster the global supply of cost-effective clean energy for industry. In addition to the mitigation measure of climate change, Kenya is working towards use of renewable energy like use of wind energy as generated in the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project. Lake Turkana Wind Project will help in combating climate change. The main objectives of the Lake Turkana Wind Power Project include:

• • Develop and operate a wind farm to generate sustainable energy that facilitates national economic development.

• • Manage the associated environmental and social risks and impacts in accordance with the principles of sustainable development.

• • Help the country to address power shortage and enhance further economic growth.

Before the commencement of the project, research was done for the purpose of determining its viability. The research also included the determination of the baseline information of the project area. In the analysis the project area is located between the foot slopes of Mt Kulal and the south-eastern end of Lake Turkana in Loiyangalani Location. The site of the project covers an area of 150 km2 (15km by 10km) leased from the Government of Kenya (GoK) for a period of 99 years. The area has unique geographical conditions in which daily temperature fluctuations generate strong predictable wind streams between the Lake Turkana and the desert hinterland. In this regard, the project area covers a valley between Mt Kulal and Mt. Nyiru that effectively acts as a funnel in which the wind streams are accelerated to high speeds. The average wind speed in the project area has been recorded to be 11 meters per second. These are among the highest wind speed averages recorded in the world. In Kenya the energy power production relies on hydropower which is negatively affected by the adverse climatic conditions which keep on changing leading to drought and other adverse effects. This has negatively affected power production and therefore the Lake Turkana wind power project will help in increasing power production as it mitigates the adverse effects of climate change. Kenya being an advocate of climate change is participating actively to ensure that there is a clean environment through promotion of clean energy which in tandem reduces the greenhouse gases emission. In doing this Kenya has a legal framework that is aids towards the journey of reducing this problem of climate change.