Kenya continues to solidify her status as a towering advocate for a shift to green energy on the global stage as calls intensify for more strategic investments in the exploitation of minerals driving the transition to clean energy.
The Cabinet Secretary for Mining, Blue Economy and Maritime Affairs Salim Mvurya said more efforts were needed towards promoting the exploitation of minerals critical to the green-energy transition as he challenged world governments to ensure local communities benefited from equitable distribution of benefits from such resources.
The CS was speaking on Tuesday at the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia where he joined other mining ministers from across the globe to represent Kenya in deliberations on fundamental aspects that emerged from COP 28 in Dubai last year over green energy.
Amongst those issues include tripling of renewable energy capacity, doubling of energy efficiencies, and adoption of clean energy by 2030.
Already the state Department of Mining has classified minerals including copper, lithium, nickel, cobalt, and rare earth among others as strategic minerals. These are critical minerals that are at the heart of the country’s drive towards green energy transition.
“Kenya is part of the global economy seeking to deliver tangible contributions to the critical energy transition targets. As a country, we are focused on participating actively for the benefit of our great nation and mining communities,” said the CS.
The CS further highlighted the significant progress achieved in the mining sector to spur growth and position Kenya as a preferred mining destination. He said the country was developing a Mineral Value Addition and Processing Policy to guide in sustainable exploitation of local minerals.
He added that the government had streamlined the issuing of licensing and permits through the operationalization of the online mining cadaster system.
Kenya has embraced technological advancement in the promotion of the mining sector while pushing for collaborative engagements to drive sustainable exploitation of minerals like copper and manganese.
The Ministerial Roundtable and Future Mineral Forum (FMF) forms the only platform where governments and captains of industry in the mining sector from across the world converge to shape the future of minerals.
As an inclusive multi-stakeholder space, FMF is a government-led platform that also brings together suppliers and customers worldwide to partner and collaborate on matters relating to minerals and mineral processing.
This forum additionally assists governments in leveraging technology and innovation to enhance the operations of the mining sector and support the meeting of global standards for clean energy.
By Wagema Mwangi
