The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the global organisation of parliaments, is coming to Nairobi. The meeting set for 15th to 17th May 2026 will be launching a project on the need to deal with rising methane emissions that contribute to global warming, through the theme: “Enhancing Parliamentary Action on Climate Change: Strengthening the Role of Parliaments in Reducing Methane Emissions.”
This meeting, supported by the Global Methane Hub, aims to equip parliaments with the tools, training, and networks they need to take effective action on methane emissions.
According to the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), methane is far more potent than carbon dioxide in trapping heat. Over a 20-year period, methane is 86 times more powerful than carbon dioxide. Methane is responsible for approximately 30% of global warming since the pre-industrial era, and although methane is a short-lived greenhouse gas, lasting about 12 years, increasing emissions significantly contribute to worsening global warming.
In the build-up to the meeting, Parliament organised a media breakfast Dialogue on Methane Emissions in Kenya with the Theme: “Enhancing Public Understanding and Parliamentary Action on Methane Reduction in Kenya.”
One presentation that stood out, is the one by Dr Claudia Arndt from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) on Research, Innovation and Sector Experience in Methane Reduction.
According to Dr. Arndt, most of the methane emission in Kenya is produced by livestock followed by solid waste, livestock manure and rice production.
Research has shown that livestock, particularly ruminants-cattle, sheep, goats, generate significant methane through enteric fermentation. That roughly 37% of methane emissions from human activity arise from livestock farming. However, many reports on this subject carry a disclaimer, meaning there is a need for further research and analysis to determine if indeed livestock is the main culprit.
In Nairobi City County, “We have methane in waste sites like Dandora, we have combustion gases from motor vehicles that builds other pollutants that are very bad for human health,” says Dr. Arndt and adds, “It’s not as much in the countryside because you don’t have as much combustion, the landfill will have a bigger point emission compared to cattle that roam around.” So, how livestock is a major contributor, while there is less pollution in the countryside where livestock roam freely is a matter that needs to be looked into.
The crux of the matter is agriculture which is the mainstay of the economy is also the one where most of the methane is emitted, according to the research. Livestock produces methane due to enteric fermentaiton through burping, from its waste and waste from agricultural products or agricultural remains.
In his presentation, Dr. John Mutunga, Tigania West MP, avers that according to scientists, agriculture is responsible for 40% of the methane emissions.
The biggest worry is that research has shown that “the poorer the genetics of the animal or the poorer the breed, the more the methane they emit. Very interesting,” he says and adds, “The poorer the productivity of the animal, the more methane it produces.”
But Mandera North Abdullahi Bashir Sheikh who is the Chairman of the Parliamentary Pastoralists Group, questioned the veracity of the research and the fact that it concentrated on cattle and not the other forms of livestock including the Camel which is mostly kept by pastoralist communities.
According to the Mandera North Member of Parliament, speaking on the matter about methane and climate change, he called for the involvement of pastoralist communities when developing policies that affect them, noting that pastoralists are highly mobile individuals and a townhall meeting does not work for them.
Bashir Sheikh urged researchers to be cognisant of the fact that 80 per cent of the country is Arid and Semi-Arid Lands (ASALs), and that is where pastoralist communities live and where over 90 per cent of the pastoralists keep camels.
Yet according to him, the presentation by the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) did not have data on the camels as being among the livestock, “sad that they have no research on camels, you have no research on camels and that is the core of the pastoralist person out there, the research that you have is the cows not camels” for Bashir Sheikh data that does not have the contributions of camel population in determining whether or not they contribute to methane emissions is incomplete. He says 14 of the 47 counties in the country have pastoralist communities that keep camels.
Mutunga is of the view that countries, more so Kenya, need to have in place policies that work towards reducing methane emissions, but this will be a major challenge considering that most county governments are still struggling with solid waste management.
Nairobi itself has Dandora dumpsite where most of the organic waste is dumped, most of it coming from domestic refuse, from eateries and hotels where much of the left-over food comes from, the anaerobic bacteria take over and, in the end, we have methane gas.
Another noxious gas is Nitrous oxide, which is the third most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gas, accounting for about 10% of net global warming.
Methane is high on the agenda of the IPU meeting, so far 150 countries have already signed up to the reduction of methane, by 30% by 2030, yet with just under four years to the end date, most are running behind schedule. There is therefore an urgent need for parliaments to develop appropriate legislation, regulations, and even policies towards the reduction in methane emissions.
Perhaps one of the solutions should be how to tap methane gas and use it as a green energy instead of looking at it as a problem, let us look at the opportunities. Developing countries could look into how to come up with bankable proposals and tap into the resources available under the Green Climate Fund to reduce emissions by utilising methane as a source of energy.
Legislation that looks at reducing emissions through improved livestock breeds and feeds should be a long-term measure, because changing pastoralist communities overnight will meet resistance, how to reduce the number of animals yet the strength and wealth of these communities lies in the number of animals will also meet resistance.
If the burping and cow dung released by the livestock is the main source of methane then, the solution lies in tapping the biogas, let the potency of the methane emitted by the “poor breeds” be seen in the form of energy it produces.
Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas and a major cause of global temperature rise. It is over 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide in the short term but has a much shorter lifespan. This means that reductions in methane emissions can deliver quick climate benefits.
However, methane is not only a climate issue. It also harms ground-level air quality which is bad for public health, crops and the environment. Reducing methane, therefore, can quickly improve air quality, protect health, and support food and environmental security.
The writer is a KBC climate journalist
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