Treasury disburses Sh7 billion to counties to boost climate resilience

The National Treasury has sent Sh6.97 billion to counties to boost climate resilience through the Financing Locally Led Climate Action Programme (FLLoCA).

The kitty aims to increase the capacity of communities to adapt to and mitigate the impacts of climate change, natural hazards, and other shocks. 

This is part of the second tranche of the County Climate Resilience Investment (CCRI) Grants that allows county governments to operationalise their County Climate Change Action Plans.

The amounts are to be invested in their unique climate vulnerabilities to build local climate resilience.

This involves supporting locally led climate resilience actions, building county-level capacity for planning, budgeting, and implementing climate actions, and strengthening national-level coordination and reporting. 

The programme focuses on building the capacity of county governments to effectively plan, budget, implement, and monitor climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies at the local level. 

This includes strengthening institutional frameworks and ensuring a sustainable approach to addressing climate challenges. 

Speaking when he announced the releases, National Treasury boss, John Mbadi, said that by channelling resources directly to the local level, they are strengthening institutional capacity, accelerating adaptation efforts, and ensuring that climate action delivers tangible benefits to communities most at risk.

National Treasury Principal Secretary, Chris Kiptoo, said the Annual Performance Assessment process has been instrumental in ensuring that the County Climate Resilience CCRI Grant allocations are grounded in accountability, readiness, and local ownership.

Building on the foundation laid by the Participatory Climate Risk Assessment, the exchequer said that the empowers counties to lead climate action through inclusive planning that reflects the unique needs and voices of their communities.

To support effective utilisation of the CCRI Grants, FLLoCA will continue to provide technical assistance, capacity building, and knowledge support to County Governments throughout implementation.

The CCRI Grants represent a bottom-up approach to climate finance, enabling county governments and local communities to take the lead in designing and implementing tailored projects that address local climate risks and build climate change resilience for long-term sustainability.

“Our progress speaks volumes: to date, the program has achieved remarkable national coverage, reaching 1,137 wards (78.4 per cent) of our 1,450-ward target. Each new ward represents another community equipped to write its own climate resilience story,’’ Kiptoo said.

Through these efforts, over 503 climate resilience sub-projects have been completed with 558 ongoing, directly benefiting 1.146 million Kenyans and creating more than 57,000 jobs, including for youth, women, and marginalized groups.

The fund focuses on climate-smart agriculture, has restored 27,640 hectares of land and provided technical training to farmers. 2245 first cycle pipeline sub-projects of which 51 per cent are focused on the water sector, 28 per cent on environment, 13 per cent on agriculture, and 8 per cent on other sectors, including energy.