The Carbon Land Grab: Kenya’s New Frontier of Dispossession

The Carbon Land Grab: Kenya’s New Frontier of Dispossession

​By Linda Dabo/AI Reporter 

January 5, 2026

​As thxe global race for "Net Zero" intensifies, a new scramble for Africa is unfolding—not for gold or oil, but for the very air above its soil. A landmark investigation released today by the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) and environmental journalist Chris Lang reveals the staggering scale of what they call the "carbon land grab" in Kenya.

​The report paints a sobering picture of a nation where vast swaths of territory are being commodified for the benefit of Global North corporations, often at the expense of the indigenous and pastoralist communities who have protected these lands for generations.

​Mapping the Scramble

​According to SOMO’s latest data, land-based carbon offset projects now cover more than 5.4 million hectares in Kenya. To put that in perspective, this area is nearly equivalent to the country’s total arable land.

​The concentration of power is equally striking: just three massive projects account for over 65% of this total area. These initiatives, frequently managed by foreign entities and backed by global polluters like Shell, TotalEnergies, and Netflix, claim to "offset" carbon emissions through forest conservation or modified livestock grazing. However, the investigation argues that these projects are less about saving the planet and more about securing control over African resources.

​A Crisis of Consent

​The core of the controversy lies in the violation of Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC). For many indigenous communities, the first sign of a carbon project is not a consultation, but a restriction.

​"Carbon trading is becoming a new tool for land dispossession," says Chris Lang, a long-time critic of the REDD+ (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation) framework. "By attaching property rights to carbon, these schemes fuel an industry that encloses communal land, effectively eroding local control under the guise of climate action."

​The human cost of these projects has already reached a breaking point. In early 2025, the Environment and Land Court in Isiolo delivered a devastating blow to the flagship Northern Kenya Rangelands Carbon Project. The court ruled that the project—managed by the Northern Rangelands Trust (NRT)—was unconstitutional, citing a total lack of public participation and the illegal acquisition of community land.

​Beyond the Green Veneer

​The SOMO investigation also revisits the darker side of carbon project management. Previous reports into the Kasigau Corridor REDD+ project exposed systemic human rights abuses, including allegations of sexual harassment and the use of "dog training" tactics against local residents by project security.

​Despite these red flags, the Kenyan government remains a staunch advocate for the sector. President William Ruto has famously described carbon credits as Kenya’s "next significant export." While new 2024 regulations aim to ensure that 40% of earnings reach host communities, critics argue these laws are "too little, too late" to stop a market already dominated by "carbon cowboys" and elite capture.

​The Verdict: Climate Action or Neo-Colonialism?

​The SOMO report concludes that the current carbon market model is fundamentally flawed. Instead of forcing heavy polluters to reduce their own emissions, it allows them to purchase "licenses to pollute" by locking up African land.

​For the pastoralists of Northern Kenya, the struggle is no longer just against a changing climate, but against a market that views their ancestral grazing lands as nothing more than a balance sheet for distant corporations. As the investigation makes clear: when land becomes a "carbon asset," the people living on it often become an "obstacle."

​Key Statistics from the SOMO/Chris Lang Report:

​5.4 Million Hectares: Total Kenyan land under carbon projects.

​65%: Percentage of land controlled by the three largest projects.

​100%: Increase in land-based offset area since 2020.

​$300M - $500M: Projected gross value of the Northern Kenya Rangelands project over 30 years.