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Kenya/Global: Big Victory for #SaveLamu/#deCOALonize
AfricaFocus Bulletin
July 2, 2019 (2019-07-02)
(Reposted from sources cited below)
Editor's Note
“On Wednesday 26th June, Kenya’s National Environment Tribunal
(NET) made a landmark ruling that set aside the license granted to
Amu Power Company Ltd by the National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) to construct a 1050MW coal plant in Lamu. The
tribunal noted that … there was no evidence that Amu Power properly
informed residents of Lamu of the impacts that the coal plant
project would have on their environment, livelihood or health.” -
#deCOALonize press release, June 29, 2019
This AfricaFocus Bulletin contains a variety of resources, with
both basic and more in-depth background on this historic
development in the global campaign against fossil fuels and for the
future of the planet. First, a set of recommended videos, as well
as a short BBC article summing up the situation in early June,
before the ruling from the tribunal. Then, the press release from
#deCOALonize. Then, an in-depth interview with Dr. Anita Plummer,
based on her recent interviews with Kenyan activists involved in
the campaign.
This is followed by a set of additional links for further
contextual background, and by a fact sheet on the evidence against
the economic viability of this coal-power scheme.
For previous AfricaFocus Bulletins on climate and the environment,
visit
http://www.africafocus.org/intro-env.php For previous
AfricaFocus Bulletins on Kenya, visit
http://www.africafocus.org/country/kenya.php
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Recommended Videos
BBC, June 5, 2019 article. Good summary of status of project and
protest prior to the court ruling. Includes 2-minute video with
local activist Raya Famau Ahmed.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-48503020
“Coal Power in Kenya: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back?,” July 6,
2017
10-minute video with interviews with local opponents and supporters
of the project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cSlXMNEnoXk
Kenya Television Network News, June 11, 2018 – 28 minutes, clear
overview by journalist, followed by panel discussion by
environmental specialists and activists.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PKTXmpOnSf8
Power in Africa – 22-minute very informative panel discussion on
off-grid solar, moderated by Yinka Adeyoke of Quartz Africa, with
Jesse Moore of Kenya´s M-Kopa and musician/climate entrepreneur
Akon.
https://vimeo.com/343640023
By deCOALonize
June 29, 2019
On Wednesday 26th June, Kenya’s National Environment Tribunal (NET)
made a landmark ruling that set aside the license granted to Amu
Power Company Ltd by the National Environment Management Authority
(NEMA) to construct a 1050MW coal plant in Lamu.
The tribunal noted that “[p]ublic participation is the oxygen that
gives life to an ESIA report” and that there was no evidence that
Amu Power properly informed residents of Lamu of the impacts that
the coal plant project would have on their environment, livelihood
or health.
#deCOALonize activists in front of the Supreme Court of Kenya after
the winning ruling.
“Would the members have supported the projects if they know about
effects on human health, damage of flora and fauna, immature
deaths, and even adverse effects on forests? There might be ways to
mitigate the same; however, the residents ought to have been
notified of these before a license was issued,” the tribunal ruled.
Members of Save Lamu, who had petitioned the NET to have the
Environment and Social Impact Assessment license (ESIA) cancelled,
were overjoyed by this ruling. Save Lamu Vice Chairman Mohamed
Mbwana thanked NET for considering their petition.
“We’re thankful the NET was able to hear our petition. We’re happy
not just as the people of Lamu but the whole country. Obviously we
would have borne the major impacts, but the country as whole would
have had to pay for this project. And the health impacts in Lamu
would have spread all over the country with time,” Mr Mbwana said.
Mohammed Athman, also a board member of Save Lamu who has been
vocal against the coal plant project, said the ruling had restored
hope among common people who previously lost all confidence in the
court processes.
“Now we believe a common man can follow the process as outlined in
the law, go to court and get justice. In the past people were
hopeless and would suffer in silence. So this judgment has brought
a lot of happiness for the people of Lamu,” he said.
The judgment brought to a close a court case that had begun in 2016
following NEMA’s decision to issue the ESIA license to Amu Power –
a special purpose company that brought together Centum and Gulf
energy for the purposes of building and operating Kenya’s first
coal plant.
Lamu County is known for its UNESCO World Heritage site, Lamu Old
Town, the oldest and best-preserved Swahili settlement in East
Africa. Lamu also attracts a lot of tourists for this reason and
also because of its impressive Swahili culture. Besides tourism,
most locals earn their living from farming and fishing – all of
which was to be in jeopardy if the coal power plant were given the
green light.
Raya Famau Ahmed, a resident of Lamu and strong campaigner on
women’s issues, said this was a great victory for women and
children, who end up suffering the most in any calamity.
“On behalf of the women of Lamu and the indigenous communities, I
am very happy. We were worried about this license and the lack of
public participation, and the tribunal has confirmed this. I want
to tell women that we are [speaking for?] the country and we must
keep vigilant.”
deCOALonize board member Samia Bwana, who resigned from her
position in the Lamu County government in protest over the plans to
build the controversial coal plant, felt vindicated by this ruling.
While expressing her joy, she maintained there is a need to remain
vigilant.
“I’m so ecstatic, I am overjoyed, I am grateful. I just feel like
all those years the community has waited and the sacrifices made
are worth it. But there’s still work. Bado mapambano.”
One of many #deCOALonize demonstrations in recent years. "Coal ni sumu" means "Coal is poison."
Lamu Youth Alliance board member Walid Ali also expressed his
happiness with the ruling, thanking all those involved in making
the case strong.
“I am thankful to the researchers and all civil society
organizations who helped in making NET realize the report done by
Amu Power was hogwash.”
Amu Power has the option to appeal if they are dissatisfied with
the ruling. Should Amu Power wish to continue with the coal plant
project, the tribunal noted that the company must undertake a
fresh, more comprehensive ESIA.
Interview with Dr. Anita Plummer, July 1, 2019
Dr. Plummer is an Assistant Professor of African Studies at Howard
University. In research for her dissertation she spent a total of
six months in China, in 2008 and 2009, and did additional research
in Kenya in 2008 and 2010. She returned from her latest research
visit to Kenya on June 18, 2019, after spending three weeks
interviewing environmental activists in Nairobi and in eastern
Kenya. She is currently working on a book manuscript that explores
how Chinese engagements have shifted the economic and political
landscape in Kenya.
This AfricaFocus interview was conducted through a Google doc
exchange.
AfricaFocus Bulletin (AF): Your recent trip to
Kenya came at an auspicious time but a busy time for activists. Can
you tell me a bit about who you were able to talk to and what
general impression you had of the thinking among activists, and
whether they expected this victory in court?
Anita Plummer (AP): Kenyan environmental justice
organizers, farmers, and fishers are passionately and resolutely
promoting an alternative vision of development. I had the
opportunity to attend a community meeting in Mui Basin, the area of
eastern Kenya where the government granted concession companies
rights to mine for coal. The group of 100 residents, mostly farmers
that resist mining, were asked, “What is development to you?” One
response resonated with me, a woman stood up and said, “The
government should help our community add value to the farming that
already exists. We want to grow watermelons, not have coal mines.”
The question and her response were simple yet profound. Throughout
the meeting, participants reiterated the close connections between
the environment and sustainable livelihood, ancestral, and
spiritual connections to land, social linkages between communities,
land rights, and insurance for future generations. The bottom line
was that environmental justice was imperative for people.
I was honored to talk with a diverse group of people with a common
purpose of protecting Kenya from coal and promoting sustainable
energy and livelihoods. Interestingly, activists in Lamu were
cautiously optimistic that the National Environmental Tribunal
would rule in favor of delaying
the license for the coal plant. Legal experts and advocates in
Nairobi were more skeptical that the Tribunal would rule in their
favor because they were unconvinced that the judiciary would act
independently from the executive. Regardless of the outcome,
activists were already planning two and three steps ahead to keep
the momentum going by continuing to engage the Kenyan public,
pressure elected officials, build international support, and raise
future legal challenges. Now that the judgment had been handed
down, this sends a powerful signal to the Kenyan government,
external actors like China, and the Kenyan people that there is
power in coordinated and sustained organizing. I think this was a
victory not only for Kenya but for Africa and beyond.
Chinese Ambassador to Kenya Wu Peng, with representatives of
Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and other Kenyan Civil
Society groups after a deliberation on the controversial Lamu coal-
fueled power project at the embassy in Nairobi. June 28, 2019.
Credit: PACJA.
AF: Kenya has been a leader in the use of
renewable energy, with geothermal and hydropower now being the
principal sources of electricity, the largest wind farm in Africa.
Its innovative M-Kopa system has brought home solar systems to
750,000 households in East Africa. Why, then, did the government
decide to go for , the most backward of fossil fuels, instead of
doubling down on more advanced technology?
AP: Understanding the contrast between President
Uhuru Kenyatta’s commitment
to 100% green energy by 2020, Kenya’s robust green growth
agenda, and the legacy of environmental activism, on the one hand,
and the promotion of the Lamu Coal Plant has been a challenge for
environmental justice organizers. There is an apparent
contradiction between the rhetoric and the actions of leaders. On
the one hand the laws are solidly pro-environmental protection and
management, and on the other hand, there is poor policy
implementation and a lack of resources to ensure consistent
enforcement. The sense I got from advocates in Nairobi and local
organizers in Lamu and Mui Basin (the coal-rich area of Kitui
County, Kenya) was that the lack of political will from the central
government to fully realize Kenya’s environmental policy is rooted
in the narrow economic and political interests of government
officials.
AF: Following up on that, how does the coal plant
fit into Kenyan government development goals, and in particular
into the LAPSSET Corridor Program.
AP: Kenya’s Vision 2030, the economic development
blueprint that was unveiled in 2007, served as the
impetus for the Lamu Coal Plant. The rationale was that to
industrialize and become a middle-income country, Kenya had to
invest in governance reforms, new infrastructure, technology, human
resources, land reform, security etc., along with an increase in
power generation. The government planners list coal alongside
geothermal and renewable sources in the original policy as a new
energy source. Unsurprisingly the plan also committed to
maintaining a clean and sustainable environment. Activists have
clearly stated that there is no acceptable amount of pollution that
justifies meeting the goals of Kenya’s Vision 2030 and that a clean
environment serves as the basis for sustainable development.
The Lamu Coal Plant was first proposed in 2013. The plant is part
of an expansive development project called LAPSSET (Lamu Port-
Southern Sudan-Ethiopia Transport project) which is a large scale
multi-country infrastructure project that includes a deep sea port
in Lamu (which is well underway), an oil pipeline, highways,
airports, and railways. The government has been doggedly trying to
see this plan through and wants to signal to Ethiopia and South
Sudan that it can deliver on its commitments. Along with these
regional dynamics, some argue that the government made a bad deal for Kenyan tax-payers and
energy consumers when it signed on for the $2 billion project. That
implies that the agreement was good for some. I talked to people in
Lamu who speculated that government officials with financial
interests in the investment companies behind the coal plant stood
to benefit from the plant going on line. This theory was supported
by an article printed in
The Daily Nation noting that the 25-year power purchasing
agreement between the Kenyan government and investors included a
“take-or-pay” clause that required investors be paid even if the
power was not being used or if it’s replaced by power already being
generated from other sources.
The LAPSSET Project has been billed as the transport corridor that
will bring the regional integration of 160 million people and three
countries together. Lamu has become ground zero for an oil
refinery, two oil pipelines and a 32-berth deepwater port aimed at
international markets. For activists in Lamu, the struggle for
environmental protection, management and sustainability go well
beyond the coal plant. I talked with community members in Lamu who
have relied on fishing and other marine natural resources as their
primary source of livelihood, and they presently feel threatened by
the construction of the first three berths at the port. Despite
calls for investments in renewable energy, here is another case
where the Kenyan government is leaning in on investments in another
fossil fuel.
AF: Amu Power Company is a Kenyan-based
consortium, and the project involves funding and contractors from
China and the United States. Critics charged that Kenyan taxpayers
and consumers would pay a heavy cost, in addition to the damage
done to the local environment and the climate. Who do Kenyans think
would benefit?
AP: The people I spoke with were adamant that the
coal plant was not being built to serve Kenyan households. I asked
who were the intended consumers of the energy from the projected
coal plant, and respondents did not know. In sum, people thought
the project was a waste of resources, and many were doubtful that
Kenya would attract enough industry to justify its output in the
future. About 85% of Kenya's energy is from renewable sources,
mostly from hydropower, geothermal and wind. In 2016 73.94% of
Kenyans lived in rural areas with less than half having access to
the power grid. In response to this, the solar energy industry is
filling that gap by selling or financing solar units. The M-Kopa
system you mentioned earlier is an example of companies providing
off-grid alternatives for Kenyans.
You're right that Chinese, America, Kenyan, and Gulf state
investors in Amu Power, either as contractors or investors, stand
to benefit the most from investments in coal. This is particularly
alarming because compared to the US where renewable energy accounts
for 12.2% of consumption and China at 38.3%, Kenya at 85% of its
energy from renewable sources is in a better position to avoid
dependency on outdated and dirty energy sources. Kenya should
continue on a progressive, self-reliant path and not tie its energy
future to foreign companies and governments.
AF: The successful protest against the project
seems to have involved an unusual mix of local activists and
national and global organizations. And the charges against it
features protection of heritage, protection of the environment, and
the global climate crisis. The activists also used not only street
demonstrations, but social media and legal strategies. Who took the
lead, and how did they bring it all together?
AP: I want to emphasize that this struggle began
almost a decade ago when the Kenyan government first released its
plans for the Lamu port and oil pipeline in 2010. Since then, as
the development plans for Lamu County began to take shape,
community members have been resisting projects that negatively
impact their livelihood. I learned that it has been a journey and
most Lamu residents were initially open to the prospects of job
creation especially in light of security threats from Al-Shabaab
effectively gutting the tourism industry which aside from fishing
generated the most employment. One fisherman told me that he began
seeing construction at the site of the port and he and others did
not understood what was happening. He, along with other community
members, stated that they did not know one person from Lamu that
had gained employment. Over time as community members realized that
they were not being consulted and decisions were being made in the
capital without their knowledge they began asking questions and
mobilizing themselves after people stated that their lands were
being seized for the site of the LAPSSET project. This led to the
formation of the organization
Save Lamu. In 2010, Save Lamu joined with Natural Justice,
a social and environmental justice organization, to initiate an
ongoing consultative process in 34 villages and with 40
organizations in Lamu County that led to the Lamu County Bio-cultural
community protocol. This process guided the organizing around
the coal plant and port project by emphasizing culturally informed
public participation in all activities and development practices in
the area. Significantly, the participants developed and presented
an alternative vision for development for their community.
In late 2016, a dynamic coalition of organizations that included
Save Lamu, Natural Justice, 350.org and Greenpeace Africa has
created a movement aptly called deCOALonize Kenya to specifically
challenge the development of the coal plant in Lamu County and coal
mining in Mui Basin and promote 100% renewable energy in Kenya.
deCOALonize Kenya have engaged a multipronged approach (including
social and earned media, direct action and letter writing) to
highlight the negative impacts of coal and target key Kenyan
constituencies.
AF: Protesters in South Africa are also
confronting the coal industry and a government reluctant to act,
and that country has a large installed fleet of coal generation
plants as well as others yet to come on-line. Activists there are
clearly encouraged by the success in Kenya. Are there lessons they
can learn from their Kenyan counterparts?
AP: One of the most effective tactics for
organizers has been to build international solidarity with other
environmental justice activists. After learning that the coal for
the Amu Plant would be imported from mines in South Africa and
Mozambique, in 2014 a delegation of organizers from Save Lamu, The
Lamu Youth Alliance and Sauti ya Wanawake (Voice of Women) went to
South Africa to learn about the environmental and health impacts of
mining. A representative from Lamu reported on this trip at the
meeting I attended in Mui Basin with graphic details on how air
pollution has led to severe illness among miners and their
families. This moment in the meeting put the Mui Basin mining in a
global context because connections were made with similar
communities in South Africa. I got the sense that even though
people were primarily concerned with immediate threats to their
health and livelihood, their horizons expanded beyond the local.
deCOALonize Kenya is a national movement that is connected to
transnational movements for environmental justice that are informed
by local realities and inspired by global struggles.
Key Activist Organizations Involved
Save Lamu
https://www.savelamu.org/
deCoalonize
http://www.decoalonize.org/
Katiba Institute
https://www.katibainstitute.org/
Natural Justice
https://naturaljustice.org/countries/kenya/
350Africa.org
https://350africa.org/
Pan African Climate Justice Alliance
https://www.pacja.org/
GreenPeace Africa
https://www.greenpeace.org/africa/en/
Key Sources on Renewable Energy in Kenya
Kenya has been a leader in renewable
energy, particularly including geothermal, hydropower, and
wind. The country has also been a
global pioneer in off-grid solar, as noted in the most recent
global report on this technology.
Key Sources on Lamu Project
For background on the court decision see coverage by BBC, PulseLive Kenya, 350.org, and Greenpeace Africa.
BankTrack provides a
clear summary of the project and the companies involved.
More detail on the contract with GE for ´clean-coal´ technology is
available in this news story from May 17, 2018.
Coal declining globally despite subsidies
“G20 countries triple
coal power subsidies despite climate crisis;
Major economies pledged a decade ago to phase out all aid for
fossil fuels,” Guardian, June 25, 2019
“US generates more electricity from renewables than coal for first
time ever,” Guardian, June 26, 2019
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jun/26/energy-
renewable-electricity-coal-power
Misdirected assumptions about construction, capacity, and costs
Press Release
Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA)
June 10, 2019
The proposed Lamu Coal plant in Kenya, a three-unit, 981-megawatt
(MW) facility, would be a costly mistake, locking the country into
a 25-year deal at a cost to consumers of more than US$9 billion,
even if the plant never generates any power, according to a report
released today by the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial
Analysis (IEEFA).
The report, The Proposed Lamu Coal Plant: The Wrong Choice for
Kenya, examines how the Lamu project was intended to replace the
country’s aging diesel-fired generation and strengthen baseload
capacity but factors, such as lower-than-projected demand and
higher costs for imported coal, have rendered the plan obsolete.
“This project would lead to excess generating capacity in Kenya and
sharply increase electricity rates for consumers,” said IEEFA
director of resource planning analysis David Schlissel, who wrote
the report. “The original assumptions that justified the project,
no longer apply.”
Cost projections are unrealistically low and generation assumptions
overly optimistic.
First proposed in 2015, the Lamu plant is scheduled to enter
commercial service in 2024 at an initial cost of US$2 billion. It
is being built by Amu Power Company Limited, a single-purpose
entity, 51 percent owned by Centum Investments, a Kenyan investment
firm, with the remainder held by Gulf Energy. The construction
contract for the plant was awarded to Power Construction
Corporation of China in 2016.
The plant would slow the development of readily available, clean
and increasingly low-cost geothermal, wind and solar resources.
Highlights from the report:
* The existing 25-year PPA would force Kenya to pay at least $360
million in annual capacity charges, even if no power is generated
at the plant.
* Amu Power’s claims for the cost of Lamu-generated electricity are
unrealistically low, and assumptions about how much electricity the
plant will generate are overly optimistic.
* Using more realistic assumptions, electricity from the plant
could cost as much as US 75 cents (76 Kenya Shillings) per
kilowatt-hour (KWh), on average, during the years 2024 to 2037—more
than 10 times what the plant’s proponents have claimed.
* This estimate does not include costs for port upgrades that would
be required to bring coal to the plant, nor construction of the
transmission infrastructure needed to distribute the power;
dramatically increasing the overall cost and impact on electricity
consumers and taxpayers.
* The government’s own analysis demonstrates that, when using the
most likely demand growth scenarios, Kenya’s abundant renewable
resources render no new coal generation necessary in the country
until 2029, at the earliest.
“Building this facility would burden consumers with costly power
for years to come,” said Schlissel.
“In addition, the project would make it difficult, if not
impossible, for Kenya to meet its obligations under the Paris
Agreement on climate change.”
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication
providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with
a particular focus on U.S. and international policies. AfricaFocus
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