Kenya GDP Could Grow $45 Billion With Switch To Green Economy

April 22nd, 2014 by James Ayre

Kenya’s economy could be boosted by as much as $45 billion by the year 2030 with a switch to a ‘green’ economy, according to a new joint study from the UN Environment Programme and the Government of Kenya.

The switch would also (of course) help to reduce pollution, improve air quality, improve energy/food security, and reduce waste, within the populous African nation.

The Green Economy Assessment Report — as it’s known — found that even with an investment of just 2% GDP on previously proposed green measures, the country’s (normalized) GDP could expand more than 12% in only 20 years. This economic expansion would improve food security within the country, help clean up the environment, and ensure a greater return on the utilization of the country’s natural resources — the report argues.

Under such a path, Kenya’s carbon emissions would also fall significantly — by as much as 9% by 2030. Also, agricultural yield would be expected to increase by around 15% — this would in turn spur further growth in exports, driving the country’s GDP up more.

Part of this impressive growth would be down to the country’s switch from fossil fuels to renewable forms of energy generation — current estimates are that, by the year 2030, solar, wind and other renewable energy sources could account for 20% of all the electricity generated in Kenya.

Part of this switch to renewable energy would be spurred by government incentives — government incentives to invest in resource-efficient processes would also be part of the package.

On a related note, there’s currently over 750 MW worth of FiT-approved solar PV projects in the pipeline in Kenya. Not a bad start if all those projects get developed. 🙂

Image: Kenya hand flag via Shutterstock









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