Kenya still uses a purely value-based motor vehicle
taxation system. No environmentally focused fiscal policies exist for vehicle
ownership and usage, yet up to a quarter of the country’s carbon dioxide
emissions originate from the transport and energy sectors. To achieve its
Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) objectives for road transport, current
vehicle taxes should be revised to reduce emissions through incentivizing newer
and hybrid vehicle imports. The study projects Kenya’s motor vehicle inventory
using business-as-usual scenario building projections to determine the country’s
emissions and public revenue. The results conclude that vehicle age is directly
proportional to the tax rate and therefore motor vehicle CO2 emissions could be decreased significantly by amending the current tax policies
to incentivize a shift in consumer car choice and help Kenya meet its NDC
emissions reduction target for 2030.
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