Environmentalists and climate justice advocates have raised questions about how Kenya frames its climate resilience strategy following the exclusion of the counties of Kiambu, Nairobi, and Mombasa from the latest disbursement of KES 11.2 billion in climate financing under Kenya’s Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme.
The funds, sourced from development partners and the national government, are part of Kenya’s effort to support counties in building resilience against the escalating impacts of climate change, including droughts, floods, sea-level rise, and erratic weather patterns that threaten livelihoods and food security nationwide.
According to documents from the Ministry of Environment, Climate Change, and Forestry, the climate funds were allocated to 44 counties, excluding only Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu. The official justification is that these urbanized counties are not part of the ASAL (Arid and Semi-Arid Lands) grouping and thus may not meet certain eligibility criteria under the current FLLoCA framework.
However, climate justice advocates are questioning the exclusion, arguing that these countries face some of the most severe and complex climate-related risks due to high population density, pollution, waste management crises, water stress, and unregulated urban sprawl.
“Excluding Nairobi from climate funding is like ignoring a leaking roof because it’s not on fire,” said Dr. Wanjiku Mugo, a Nairobi-based environmental planner. “Our capital city has flash floods, collapsing drainage systems, heat island effects, and massive informal settlements on the frontlines of climate vulnerability.”
Nairobi County alone generates over 60% of Kenya’s GDP, and over 4 million of its inhabitants live in vulnerable settlements like Kibera, Mathare, and Mukuru. Yet, when it comes to climate finance, the assumption that Nairobi is ‘too developed’ seems to have left it behind.
Mombasa, Kenya’s coastal economic hub, is already grappling with coastal erosion, sea-level rise, and salinization of freshwater aquifers. In 2023 alone, parts of Old Town were submerged during tidal surges. Kiambu, while more peri-urban, is critical for Nairobi’s food security and watershed protection, sitting at the headwaters of key rivers feeding the Athi and Tana systems.
“The exclusion of Mombasa is particularly alarming,” said marine conservationist Hussein Abdi. “We are losing coastlines, coral reefs, and fisheries. Our mangroves are disappearing. If this isn’t a climate emergency, what is?”
County officials in the excluded regions have expressed frustration. A senior officer at Nairobi City County, speaking anonymously, noted that the criteria for climate funding seem opaque and skewed against urban counties.
While some funds are available through other streams like the National Climate Change Fund or international donor partnerships, the bulk of structured, devolved funding under FLLoCA remains out of reach for these three counties.
“We must dismantle the myth that urban equals resilient,” says Dr. Caroline Ndirangu, a climate adaptation researcher. “Urban vulnerability is different, not less.”
Civil society groups are now calling for reforms to ensure that urban counties are not left behind in future allocations. This includes revisiting the climate risk assessments used in determining funding eligibility and ensuring that urban challenges, especially in informal settlements, are fully accounted for.
“Kenya cannot achieve true climate resilience by funding only half the country,” said John Mwangi of the Climate Justice Coalition. “Urban Kenya is rural Kenya’s future. If we don’t build resilience here, we’re sowing seeds of future disasters.”
As Kenya heads toward COP30 in Brazil, climate actors are urging both national and county governments to adopt an inclusive climate finance model, one that doesn’t punish urbanization but plans for it.
For now, residents in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu will have to weather the storms, both literal and political, without the cushion of the KES 11.2 billion meant to soften the climate blow.
