Standing on a pedestrian bridge above one of Nairobi''s busiest roads, Ann Masiga watches a stream of private minibuses ferry commuters to their homes around the city. Even a few metres above the traffic, the air is thick with gasoline and diesel fumes. Masiga is working hard with the Kenyan government to fix the disorganised transit service and the bad air.
"Better transport, water and energy, these are all big deals for this country," says Masiga, a loan officer in Nairobi for the European Investment Bank. "Poor infrastructure or poor transport systems are an impediment to everything — getting kids to school, getting a job, getting food, getting to the hospital. I don''t get tired of focusing on these issues because my work has a positive impact on many ordinary Kenyans."
"We''re going to really make a difference to the Nairobi public service system," says Masiga, whose career as a public servant is inspired by her mother, Elizabeth Semo Masiga, a pioneer for women''s education in Kenya and the first female permanent secretary in the Ministry of Education. "It will have a knock-on effect that could change transport systems throughout the country."
Kenya''s story today is one of the old coexisting with the futuristic, of traditional smallholder farming without tractors or machinery alongside the most advanced green energy technology and digital mobile payments systems, of women working in time-honoured family roles and also finding prominent positions in the management and creation of businesses.
"If you talk to people here, they can be very pessimistic, but if you see what we have done in the past in this country, you just say to yourself, ''We can do much more in the future,''" says XN Iraki, a professor in the Faculty of Business and Management Sciences at the University of Nairobi.
Iraki grew up in the countryside without power, running water, a refrigerator or stove. Later he taught in the United States, but when he returned to his country he found a widespread drive to innovate. "I have no reason to believe that this country''s future is not bright," he says.
To ensure a bright future, climate action and innovation are both vitally important, in Europe and across the globe. But Africa is profoundly at risk from global warming. The continent needs trillions of dollars in green investment – and Kenya aims to be at the forefront of the transition.
Kenya is positioned to leap past the heavily polluting industrial stage of growth, shifting to a more sustainable society. In 2008, the country created the Vision 2030 development programme, aiming to use 100% renewable energy by 2030. Renewable sources already supply more than 90% of Kenya''s electricity. The country has invested heavily in hydropower and solar parks, but especially in geothermal power. Geothermal operations produce more than 40% of Kenya''s power.
Though he grew up in rural Kenya without power in a home lit by smoky lanterns, Mangi is now general manager of geothermal development at the Olkaria site, one of the largest geothermal operations in the world. Located about 120 kilometres north of Nairobi, the complex sits mostly within Hell''s Gate National Park.
The Park is known for towering cliffs, gorges, rock towers, natural spas and plumes of steam shooting from subterranean depths. The geothermal energy emerges through long fault lines in the earth''s crust that cut through East Africa and bring the planet''s magma heat closer to the surface.
Flanked on all sides by ranches and flower farms, Olkaria''s geothermal plants tap the earth''s energy by drilling several thousand metres into the ground, then capturing steam and transporting it through pipelines to drive turbines that create electricity. Big white pipes carry water or steam all around the Olkaria complex, which covers about 70 square kilometres. The pipes sit on stilts to allow animals to pass underneath, and even have loops that allow tall giraffes to wander freely. In the mornings, the giraffes eat breakfast among the trees near the geothermal buildings.
Kenya will keep expanding geothermal energy, but it is also exporting technical knowledge about electricity and green energy to countries across Africa. The European Investment Bank is one of the biggest supporters of Kenya''s geothermal operations, having made several big investments since the 1980s. Most recently it financed more wells and steam-gathering systems at Olkaria in 2017.
The Bank also supported the biggest windfarm in Africa in a hot and dry part of northern Kenya next to Lake Turkana. It signed a €225 million loan for this windfarm in 2014, giving a big boost in financing and confidence to the decade-long project. The European Union contributed €25 million to the project from the EU-Africa Infrastructure Trust Fund. The area now has over 300 wind turbines and supplies enough electricity for more than a million homes.
But more needs to be done. "Women still have to work 10 times harder to get noticed in my field," Mwangi says. "I am now an empowered woman, but I need to be ready to also empower the ones who are coming up behind me, so that we are holding each other''s hand. They don''t necessarily have to follow my path, but we''re here to pave the way."
Kenya''s constitution says everyone has the right to be free of hunger and have access to good food. In some parts of Africa, more than 50% of food is spoiled before it can be eaten, because of a lack of refrigeration. When fully operational, Cold Chain will store bananas, apples, avocados, poultry and other perishables. It will protect produce for restaurants and help pharmaceutical companies, especially those storing COVID-19 vaccines.
"Food insecurity causes a lot of problems in society, and there is a big gap in cold storage," says Geoffrey Emungat, a facilities manager at the Tatu site, as he walks around the sprawling warehouse. "The government and private sector are really trying to work hard on eliminating the risks of storing and transporting food, but this facility also wants to have a good influence on society and the climate. I''m really proud to be part of this impact."
Traditionally, large refrigeration systems don''t have the best environmental reputations, partly because they use a lot of energy. Cold Chain is installing solar panels to provide 20% of the location''s electricity. Most of its power comes from geothermal and hydroelectric plants. And its refrigeration is powered by ammonia, which doesn''t directly contribute to global warming.
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