Open and Sustainable Climate Solutions (KE0032)

Brief Description of the Commitment

The Commitment seeks to Promote participatory development and transparent, accountable use of Sustainable Climate Solutions, involving citizens and communities.

Problem Definition

The Policy area to be addressed is Climate Change Adaptation, Removals and Mitigation (ARM) Climate change stands as humanity's paramount challenge, casting an ominous shadow over life on Earth. Urgent, global cooperation is vital to curtail emissions and mitigate greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The recent 6th Assessment Report (AR6) from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) underscores that humanity is off-course in the pursuit of the 1.5°C limit set by the Paris Agreement. AR6 sounds like a clarion call, advocating for a 43% reduction in global emissions within this decade to avert catastrophic repercussions. Within this global context, Kenya, nestled within the African continent, faces a multifaceted quandary in its quest for a cleaner energy transition, particularly within households. The predicament is marked by the gross impact of Climate change: Extreme Weather Events, Agricultural Losses, and Loss of Biodiversity due to changing temperatures and precipitation patterns can lead to habitat loss and migration of species, threatening biodiversity to lay ground for loss and damage; and indoor air pollution stemming from the use of traditional biomass fuels, exacerbating health woes, while heavy reliance on these fuels contributes to deforestation, exacts a high time and labour toll for cooking, and inflicts soaring energy costs upon households. These tribulations not only imperil the health and well-being of Kenyan households, with women and children bearing a disproportionate burden, but also foster environmental degradation, unsustainable resource utilization, and economic conundrums. The African continent, possesses a staggering 40 percent of the world's renewable energy resources. However, only a meager fraction, approximately $60 billion or a mere two percent of the US$3 trillion in renewable energy investments of the last decade, has flowed into Africa. Africa's natural endowments are equally staggering, from the immense carbon-absorbing prowess of the Congo Basin rainforest to the invaluable ecosystem services rendered by savannahs, Miombo woodlands, peatlands, mangroves, coastal regions (such as Mikoko Pamoja in Kenya), and coral reefs. Countries like Kenya, with their abundant resources, stand to gain immensely from global carbon markets. Yet, these mechanisms, often voluntary in nature, remain shrouded in opacity, inaccessibility, and inequality, particularly for developing nations. In Kenya, communities emerge as key players in carbon offset initiatives, offering communities the promise of additional income and resources for development. However, the obscurity surrounding financial flows and the prevailing inequities within voluntary carbon markets form formidable barriers, hindering African nations and communities from fully harnessing the potential of the carbon economy. Recognizing Africa's pivotal role in reducing global carbon emissions and ensuring that the ensuing proceeds and benefits rightfully find their way to communities becomes an urgent imperative. Open Government Principles and concerted actions hold the promise of forging a path for Kenya and other African nations. Such principles can provide the scaffolding for creating an enabling environment, whereby enacted policies not only facilitate the necessary investments to unlock these abundant resources for meeting climate commitments but also extend co-benefits to communities. In this way, Kenya can play a meaningful role in the global decarbonization effort, forging a sustainable path toward a cleaner, more equitable future.

Challenges:

● Climate conversations are technical and exclusionary to communities most impacted by climate, furthermore, Capacity and resources pose a significant challenge, as many communities may lack the means to actively participate in policymaking. Ensuring comprehensive representation across all community segments can be complex, given that certain groups might face barriers to access and influence in decision-making processes. ● Resistance to change is another obstacle. Bureaucratic structures, entrenched topdown decision-making practices, and established interests that are comfortable with the existing system are likely to oppose any deviations and maintain the status quo. ● Additionally, challenges are evident in the context of carbon markets and transparency. Enforcing transparency in these markets, which are predominantly voluntary, can prove difficult. Effective engagement may be required with stakeholders operating beyond national borders. Furthermore, there is the possibility that market participants or buyers may choose to opt-out and engage with other countries that offer more favorable terms for carbon credits, even if these terms are perceived as unfair. ● The transition to clean energy and the extraction of green minerals are contentious issues, often controlled by influential corporations and countries vying for supremacy in the evolving technological landscape. These power dynamics can complicate efforts to implement sustainable climate solutions in these domains. The focus on transition to clean energy has largely been skewed towards the urgency to transition with no focus on the impacts of transition to affected communities and efforts to minimize harm

Opportunities:

● Actively involving citizens and communities in climate policymaking empowers them to take ownership of climate solutions. This fosters enthusiasm for more effective and context-specific solutions while building their capacity to engage effectively in climate policymaking. ● Shifting towards bottom-up participation ensures that climate policies become more inclusive and reflective of local needs and priorities, aligning them better with unique community challenges and opportunities. ● Emphasizing transparency and accountability in the use of climate solutions builds trust among stakeholders, fosters cooperation, and ensures efficient and ethical resource utilization.

Commitment Description

Kenya finds itself at a critical juncture in its ongoing battle against climate change, a looming threat that jeopardizes its sustainable development goals and the hard-earned progress it has made. As the economic powerhouse of East Africa, Kenya's prosperity is intricately tied to sectors highly susceptible to climate variations, such as rainfed agriculture, tourism, and natural resources. The economic repercussions of climate change are acutely felt on an annual basis, siphoning off an estimated 3-4% of Kenya's GDP. While international aid has been forthcoming, it has proven insufficient in bridging the growing chasm in climate finance. To illustrate, in 2018, Kenya received approximately $2.4 billion as financial support for its National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP), a mere fraction of what is required to meet its National Determined Contribution (NDC) targets. Kenya stands out in Africa as a trailblazer, having enacted the Climate Change Act of 2016 immediately following the Paris Agreement. Complementing this legislation is the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) for the period 2018-2022, charting a clear course towards a sustainable and resilient future. This multifaceted strategy is designed to expedite adaptation to the changing climate by concentrating on safeguarding vulnerable sectors and communities. Key priorities encompass afforestation and reforestation initiatives, leveraging the vital role of trees as carbon sinks. The plans aim to rejuvenate degraded landscapes, ensuring ecological stability and mitigating climate-related perils like droughts and floods. The plan also advocates for climate-smart agriculture to bolster resilience and curtail emissions. Furthermore, it explores the potential of geothermal energy as the linchpin of a just energy transition. Despite contributing less than 0.1% of global greenhouse gas emissions, Kenya has emerged as a champion of climate action. Recently, it hosted the inaugural Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, Kenya, under the auspices of H.E. President William Ruto and the African Union Committee of African Heads of State on Climate Change (CAHOSCC). This summit galvanized action on various fronts, including a just energy transition, global financial reforms aligned with climate action, the development of green minerals, and the creation of green jobs. Kenya has made significant strides toward a future characterized by significantly reduced carbon emissions by aiming for a 32% reduction by 2030, implementing a total ban on singleuse plastic bags, and formulating policies centered around a circular economy.

Proposed Solutions

There is a need to: 1. Foster Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Sustainable Climate Solutions 2. Enhance Transparency in Climate Finance 3. Promote Afforestation and Reforestation to improve water resources, carbon sequestration potential and resilience. 4. Enable Equitable, Safe and clean Energy Transition of communities, especially women for better environmental and health outcomes. 5. Strengthen Climate Resilience through actionable Early Warning Systems.

Desired Results

The implementation of this commitment is expected to foster significant community engagement within the climate change policymaking process. By actively involving citizens and communities in the development and execution of sustainable climate solutions, policies will become more inclusive and aligned with local needs and priorities. This shift towards bottom-up participation is anticipated to empower communities and enhance the effectiveness of climate initiatives, ensuring they are better tailored to specific on-theground challenges and opportunities. There will be a strong emphasis on transparency and accountability in the utilization of climate solutions, ensuring that resources allocated to climate projects are used efficiently and ethically. Consequently, this will lead to the establishment of improved monitoring and evaluation mechanisms, mitigating the risks associated with corruption and the mismanagement of funds. Enhanced transparency in the implementation process can instill trust among stakeholders and beneficiaries, which is pivotal for the success of any climate policy. This approach is also geared towards promoting long-term sustainability, moving away from short-term fixes towards strategies that not only address immediate climate challenges but also contribute to the resilience of communities and ecosystems in the future. Furthermore, active engagement of citizens and communities in decision-making processes is expected to cultivate a sense of ownership and responsibility for climate solutions. This empowerment can lead to the adoption of more sustainable climate action and practices at the local level, such as the incorporation of environmentally friendly agricultural techniques or community-based conservation efforts. It nurtures a sense of ownership and responsibility among communities, making them active participants in climate action. Lastly, the active participation of communities in policy design and implementation will promote local ownership, responsibility, and agency. As a result, policies are more likely to directly address the actual needs of beneficiaries, increasing the likelihood of achieving positive and tangible outcomes for those affected by climate change. This approach will build resilience capacity, empower first responders to crises arising from climate shocks, and facilitate better decision-making for climate action.

Commitment Analysis

1. How will the commitment promote transparency? The commitment through a mulstitakeholder effort ensures that climate actions and policies are community-led and address their priorities. By ensuring transparency, especially on locally led climate action, citizen will have access to data around energy transition, afforestation and health outcomes as issues that matter to them most.

2. How will commitment help foster accountability? The involvement of citizens, including building technology platforms that foster transparency around these priorities will ensure accountability across agencies. By leveraging on geospatial data etc, the commitment will foster transparent monitoring accessible by all.

3. How will commitment improve citizen participation in defining, implementing, and monitoring solutions? The commitment is about ensuring locally led climate action and that climate solutions are locally led in a multistakeholder and transparent manner. This action in itself lends to the possibilities of engagement of citizens all through the cycle.

Commitment Planning (Milestones | Expected Outputs | Expected Completion Date)

Establish and sustain a multistakeholder Climate Action Working Group, including government representatives, private sector leaders, and civil society organisations, to collaboratively accelerate and monitor climate initiatives. | Establish and launch of an inclusive and vibrant multistakeholder Climate Action Working Group actively participating cocreating climate solutions. | March 2024

Design a robust tracking system for community related payments, including those linked to carbon credit-based development projects. This system will ensure transparent and accountable fund traceability, supporting climate-related initiatives and facilitating sustainable development and carbon reduction efforts. | Implementation of a transparent tracking system for community payments, ensuring equitable distribution of funds to minorities and indigenous communities. | December 2025

Develop an open and accessible platform to track the progress of afforestation initiatives within the Country's Water Towers region. This platform monitors resource allocation and public engagement, ensuring transparency and effectiveness in our afforestation efforts. | Launch of an open platform tracking afforestation progress, including the participation and benefits local communities. | August 2024

Track accessibility and impact of clean cooking technologies and initiatives for a just energy transition, which improve better health outcomes for women, youth, and children through collaborative efforts among the Government, Private Sector, and Civil Society. | Collaborative efforts resulting in improved accessibility and impact of clean cooking technologies, particularly benefiting women, youth, and children in local | December 2024

Operationalize a progressive open data platform for early warning systems and climate information services, providing realtime access to climate data e.g., weather information. This platform will empower stakeholders to take proactive measures that safeguard lives, livelihoods, and assets in response to climate-related risks. | Operationalized open data platform for early warning systems and climate information services, and integration of traditional and indigenous knowledge with modern technologies ensuring communities, including those in climate risk areas, have near real-time access to crucial climate data. | June 2026