Budget Adaptation?

In 2023, the Kenyan government asserted its leadership in global climate discussions during the Africa Climate Summit in Nairobi, where President William Ruto called for increased international support for Africa’s climate initiatives. While global advocacy is essential, domestic climate action is equally crucial.

Kenya’s government has made significant commitments to combat climate change across various sectors, including agriculture and health. As Kenya continues to make the case for global support, citizens must also hold the government to account for its domestic commitments through government budgets. If climate change is truly a domestic priority, we should see growing financing for climate in the government’s budget.

This analysis examines recent government commitments to finance climate-related activities using publicly available budget data from fiscal year 2018/19 to 2022/23. As civil society actors, we are interested in understanding how transparent the government is regarding its commitments and expenditures on climate adaptation. While there may be undisclosed allocations, our focus is on publicly accessible information that reflects the government’s financial commitments in this area.

The paper specifically targets budget allocations for climate adaptation, recognizing that, despite Kenya’s minor contribution to global emissions, its population faces significant climate threats. As these challenges grow, so will the financial needs for adaptation strategies. The Kenyan government’s 2020 Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) under the Paris Agreement emphasizes a shift toward prioritizing adaptation funding.

We aim to answer how much the national government has allocated for climate adaptation over the past five years, acknowledging that transparency issues complicate this inquiry. Future research will expand to include county government spending and a broader analysis of overall climate financing.