The uptake of climate action financing for community adaptation plan implementation and local climate actions in Nairobi

Summary

Nairobi City County currently lacks the relevant policy framework to mainstream climate action in the county’s planning and budgeting. As a result, there are no finances set aside by the county government to fund local adaptations, and county plans contributing to climate change adaptation and mitigation. On the other hand, counties such as Makueni, Kitui, Nakuru, and Kisumu etc. have already set up frameworks for climate action financing. These counties are however, at different levels in terms of the operationalisation of the Climate Change Action Plan Framework policy.

In Nairobi County, priority is shifting towards the development of adaptation plans for the slum areas, due to continued impacts of climate change resulting from the disadvantaged location of the slum settlements in the city. One such plan to have been developed successfully with strong collaboration of CSO’s, academia, private organizations, INGO’s, the local community organisations, Nairobi County and Nairobi Metropolitan Services, is the Mukuru Special Planning Area Project. Additionally, there are other plans developed by local communities, organised in different groups to improve their resilience to the impacts of climate change such as the river riparian rehabilitation and beautification, waste management and recycling, and urban agriculture among others.

The absence of the climate action plan framework at the city level has meant that these projects have little to no access to climate change financing by local climate actors within the City of Nairobi.

Although Nairobi City County had developed its Climate Change Action Plan with support from C40 Cities, the official launch of the plan has not occurred. Recognizing this as a strategic opportunity, SDI Kenya applied for and received a micro-grant from the Adaptation Research Alliance (ARA) to Support the county in launching the Plan and to initiate deeper collaboration focused on climate action in informal settlements.