Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr.

Maggie Opondo

Climate adaptation finance in Kenya: Role and ways to make it more

inclusive and transparent

1. Introduction

Climate change and uncertainties related to the phenomenon continue to adversely and
disproportionately affect economies of developing countries despite their minimal
anthropocentric contribution to global climate change. For instance, Kenya which contributes
negligibly to global greenhouse gas emissions loses approximately 5% of its GDP due to
climate-related droughts and hazards (GoK, 2020), and the African Development Bank (AfDB,
2019) approximates that some of the most vulnerable countries in the continent could lose more
than 15% of their GDP due to climate change. Accordingly, managing climate change and
climate change uncertainties in developing countries remain a major priority for states, non-state
and international actors as they seek to cushion vulnerable socio-economic systems from the
adverse impacts of climate change. Nationally, this is reflected through a growing portfolio of
national strategies, policy and legislative efforts while international commitment can be deduced
from annual climate talks, negotiations and agreements under the United Nations Framework
Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC) since its establishment in 1992.

Climate finance and especially adaptation remain a major constraint to meaningful climate action
in developing countries such as Kenya (Odhengo et al., 2019), and it is one of the most
contentious issues in international climate change negotiation (Weikmans & Roberts, 2019).
Developed countries have since 2009 during COP 15 committed to raising $ 100 billion,
balanced between adaptation and mitigation, every year by 2020 to support developing countries
to manage impacts of climate change (ibid). This commitment was reiterated in COP 21 which
resulted in the Paris Agreement, with an agreement for a more ambitious by 2025 (Scoville-
Simonds, 2016). However, commitments are voluntary and actual commitments as well as
funding is disputed (Weikmans & Roberts, 2019) and has remained way below target
(Vanderheiden, 2015). Moreover, many climate-change vulnerable countries do not receive
adaptation finance commensurate to their level of vulnerability (Barret, 2015) and difficulties
exist in distinguishing adaptation finance from the financing of development initiatives
particularly in regions that are highly vulnerable to impacts of climate change. Relatedly, there
lacks a universal definition of the concept of climate change adaptation finance. For instance,

1
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

researchers studying climate change adaptation finance often focus on international funding
particularly the Adaptation Fund of the UNFCCC (Barret, 2015). Such a focus is limiting given
limitations characterizing international adaptation finance. Furthermore, the Nation-States
remain key actors in the provision and management of adaptation finance. For instance, while
submitting her revised Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the UNFCCC the
Government of Kenya (GoK) observes that despite the initial NDC being fully conditional, most
of it was implemented through internal resources(GoK, 2020). Additionally, Kenya commits to
covering 13% of the costs in the revised NDC for which 70% of the total cost covers climate
change adaptation.

Based on an understanding of climate change adaptation as adjustments made by a system in

response to climate change in ways that seek to minimize the impacts of current and future
climate change (Pelling, 2011), this paper builds on a definition of climate finance as “monies
available for or mobilized by government and non-government entities to finance climate
mitigation and adaptation actions and interventions” (GoK, 2016:6) to define adaptation finance
as financial resources available or mobilized by state, non-state actors, multilateral actors to
minimize the impacts of current and future climate change. Many studies on climate adaptation
finance have tended to focus on quantification and tracking of amounts (Scoville-Simonds,
2016). With particular reference to Kenya, this paper discusses the role of climate adaptation
finance in mitigating impacts of climate change in Kenya. It also explores ways by which climate
adaptation finance can be made more inclusive and transparent both at the national and
international levels. Thus, the paper builds on current literature by providing a qualitative
perspective on the impacts and governance of climate change adaptation finance. In the next
sections, the paper discusses each of the core objectives earlier mentioned and finally infers a
conclusion where the key points are brought together.

2. Role of climate adaptation finance in mitigating impacts of climate change in Kenya

Following the development of the country’s Climate Change Response Strategy Since 2010,
Kenya has tackled climate change more systematically. Since then, the country has formulated
several other climate change orientated policies, strategies and plans which include National
Climate Change Action Plan (2013-17;2018-2022), National Adaptation Plan (NAP 2015-2030),
National Policy on Climate Finance 2018 and Nationally Determined Contribution (2015;2020-

2
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

2030). In 2016 the country enacted legislation (Climate Change Act 2016) aimed at
mainstreaming climate change in all sectors of the economy as well as in both the County and
National levels of governance. Formulation of national policies, strategies and laws is usually a
long, arduous and costly process, particularly where the process undergoes the requisite
stakeholder participation. Thus, donor support has historically been relied on to drive poor
countries’ policy and legislative processes(Okereke & Agupusi, 2015). This approach to the
formulation of laws and policies has however been criticized as it allows not state actors such as
NGOs as well as rich foreign countries to indirectly exert self-interesting influence on important
societal aspects of developing countries (Hearn, 1998; Khan et al., 2018; Okereke & Agupusi,
2015). Review of Kenya’s climate change adaptation documents indicates that since embarking
on a systematic approach to dealing with climate change, enormous donor support has gone in to
support Kenya’s institutional framework for climate change. For instance, in acknowledging
actors who were involved with the development of the National Climate Change Action Plan
2013-2017, the then Minister of Environment and Natural resources Hon Chirau Makwere states
that “it would have been impossible for the country to produce the plan were it not for the
generous support of UK government its international development arm DFID (Department for
International Development), the Danish and Japanese governments through DANIDA (Denmark
Development Cooperation) and JICA (Japanese International Cooperation Agency)
respectively”. (GoK, 2013:x). The document in many instances also notes that donor support
would be needed to actualize specific climate change adaptation intervention. Thus, climate
adaptation finance has played a critically important role in Kenya in the financing the processes
of development of laws, policies and strategies for climate change adaptation. This legislative
and policy architecture has the potential to contribute a climate-resilient country by providing a
favourable institutional framework, which is also important in processes of domesticating
international climate agreements such as Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

The major limitation with extensive financing of a country’s climate change adaptation
institutional framework is that could open an opportunity for undue influence on the country by
external actors for, “he who pays the piper call the tune”. This is not a farfetched assumption, as
empirical research in other sectors in Kenya and other developing countries have demonstrated
the adverse impact of donor support in policy and legislative work. In their study in Pakistan and
Cambodia, (Khan et al., 2018) find that control of financial resources is the main route of

3
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

influence among donors involved with the formulation and implementation of the county’s
health policies. Hearn (1998) found similar influence in Kenya’s sector, with the USAID
contributing to extensive privatization of the Kenyan health sector, which resulted in difficulties
among the poorer people to access quality health services due to a shift that facilitated neglect of
the public health sector.

Kenya’s NAP envisions an extensive portfolio of short term, medium-term and long term
adaptation strategies across up to 20 sectors (GoK, 2016). The total of implementing the
measures proposed in the NAP requires approximately $ 40 billion between 2015 and 2030.
Such adaptation strategies include sector-specific interventions, institutional and capacity
strengthening as well as establishment and institutionalization of early warning geared towards
avoiding or reducing climate change-related losses. The overall goal of such measures is to
protect vulnerable livelihoods particularly agriculture which is a source of livelihood for more
than 80% of Kenyans from the adverse impacts of climate change. The Global Commission on
Adaptation (2019) estimates that early warning systems often prevent losses amounting to 10
times their cost. Thus, climate adaptation finance has the potential to contribute to extensive
reduction or prevention of climate-related loses. The immediate effect of failure to fund loss-
prevention climate change adaptation investments would be 1.) high vulnerability and therefore
extensive losses related to climate-related disasters such as drought and floods; 2.) high poverty
levels due to the erosion of assets as systems draw on them to cope with the adverse impacts of
climate change. Cumulatively, this would result in stagnation of the economy, which has further
implications in entrenching poverty and vulnerability to climate change.

Climate adaptation finance can trigger economic benefits. The Global Commission on
Adaptation (2019) states that this may happen in three main ways namely reduction of economic
risks resulting from adverse impacts of climate change, higher incomes resulting from
investments in climate-resilient intervention and lastly through innovation. The Work Bank
affirms this observation, noting that every $ 1 of climate finance usually returns $ 41. In Kenya,
a majority of citizens rely on rain-fed agriculture, which is extremely susceptible to climate
change and variability often manifested in the form of droughts and floods. Irrigated farming has
been championed as a climate change adaptation measures as it can allow farmers to avoid crop

1
https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/climatefinance

4
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

stress resulting from flooding and drought. Indeed, by use of internal and external adaptation
finance, the country has embarked on extensive irrigation schemes, which are projected as a
gateway to a food-secure country. In Kenya’s vision 2030, the country envisions that the country
would transform 600,000-1.2 million hectares of land into irrigated farms (GoK, 2007:52). Such
investments have the remarkable potential not only to build food security but also increase
incomes. A study conducted by Narita et al., (2020) in Mwea Irrigation scheme finds that
irrigated farming generally increases farmers’ income compared to a scenario without irrigation.
The study specifically finds that despite climate change uncertainties, irrigated rice farming
would increase farmers’ incomes by 6% in 2050. Conversely, the farmers would lose this income
entirely, on top of experiencing a yield reduction by 4% if they did not undertake irrigation.

3. Making adaptation finance more transparent and inclusive

The Meriam Webster Dictionary defines a process that is transparent as one that is either “free
from pretence or deceit; easily detected or seen through; readily understood; characterized by
visibility or accessibility of information.”2 On the other hands, inclusivity to “allowing and
accommodating people who have historically been excluded”3. In the context of adaptation
finance, these terminologies are related in that they depict a need for universal openness
irrespective of the racial, economic, geographical standing of states as key actors in international
relations. In this section, I discuss three main ways by which to make adaptation finance more
transparent and inclusive both at the national and international scenes.

Elaborately participatory consultative processes are integral in promoting transparent and

inclusive adaptation level. It is based on an understanding that actors who are to be affected by a
certain resolution have a right to participate fully in the decision-making process arriving at the
resolution (Persson et al., 2009) At the national level in Kenya for instance, this would involve
efforts to fully involve all stakeholders (including communities) in the design, implementation
and monitoring of the funds. At the international level, it involves respectful negotiations, that
fully integrate the needs of both developing and developed countries in a fair way. Failure to
close the North-South divide through close and respectful consultation would result in the
collapse of talks as it happened in Copenhagen (COP 15) where Denmark isolated many

2
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/transparent
3
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/inclusive

5
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

developing nations when it constituted a team of 26 states to negotiate core issues in the last two
days of the conference(Jean, 2017). The result was exacerbated mistrust between developing and
developed countries’ negotiators which resulted in an impasse (ibid).

A good approach would involve a transdisciplinary approach, a form of learning and problem
solving which help to meet the complex challenges of society where disciplinary and
interdisciplinary research approaches are unable to provide the requisite framework to address or
mitigate experiential challenges (Femenías & Thuvander, 2018). Through a transdisciplinary
approach, different actors such as academia from different disciplinary backgrounds,
policymakers and community members come together to design, implement, monitor and
evaluate programs aimed at solving ‘wicked’ programs such as climate change. Such an
approach is vital because different contexts demand specific adaptation interventions whether at
micro, meso or macro levels, meaning that actors (such as negotiators, policymakers) would be
participating in the design of climate finance based on a contextualized understanding of the very
heterogeneous country that is Kenya.

The economic divide characterizing developed and developing countries have been a major
source of contestation in the design, administration, implementation and monitoring of
adaptation finance. For instance, there still exist divisions between the developed countries and
developing countries concerning the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund, which is on
of UNFCCC climate change financing vehicles in the developing countries (Vanderheiden,
2015). On the one hand, developed counties seek more control over the administration of the
fund while developing countries emphasize a level of neutrality to promote fair administration.
This has resulted in extensive disagreements, which have contributed to the under-achievement
of envisioned financial commitment by developed countries. From a pragmatic perspective, the
implication of this stalemate is than only minimal resources are available for financing adaption
initiatives in developing countries. Developing countries need to continue exerting pressure on
developed countries to take responsibility for years of emissions that are largely responsible for
current global climate change. However, this may not be forthcoming given the deep-rooted
power imbalance characterizing the developed-developing nations divide. Therefore, countries
such as Kenya need to be proactive and integrate climate adaptation into their development
processes. This approach would go a long way in demonstrating to the developed countries that

6
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

developing countries have the will and capabilities to finance adaptation with or without
international commitments, thereby promoting their “dignity” in climate negotiations. Good
progress can be noted in this direction, as the country continues to finance its NDC despite
minimal financial support from the developed world (see, GoK, 2020). In its revised NDC, the
country has committed to cover 13% of the cost related to the implementation of the NDC. This
is still a low contribution given that a lot more can be done to better account and integrate
climate adaptation finance in the country’s development planning process. Also, some counties
in Kenya (such as Makueni, Isiolo and Wajir) have already established climate funds that are
directly tied to the county budgets (Odhengo et al., 2019) further devolving adaptation finance.
However, at the range of 1-2% of the county budget, such allocations fall way below
expectations. This is so because most counties in Kenya are Arid and Semi-Arid and therefore a
lot of development challenges they have to address are in one way or the other related to
vulnerabilities related to climate change. To achieve the most out of these initiatives, Kenya will
need to enhance its good governance principles, which developed countries often cite extremely
poor in many developing countries, limitation their willingness to commit and fund adaptation
activities through the government (Weikmans & Roberts, 2019). This particularly would entail
above-board appropriation of adaptation finance, towards ensuring the highest value, and
grassroots impact of interventions.

There currently exist efforts to share adaptation finance data, but this remains weak both at the
national and international levels. At the international level, the Rio markers managed by the
OECD countries disaggregate climate finance, indicating both adaptation and mitigation flows
from the rich countries to the developing world. However, according to (Weikmans & Roberts,
2019), “this system relied fully on developed countries’ self-reporting”, and therefore the
reliability of this data is heavily questioned by activists, developing countries’ negotiators and
has been seen as projecting erroneous climate finance data in favour of developed countries that
are keen to show their proactiveness in meeting climate finance commitments. That is, OECD
countries consider typical development finance (Official Development Assistance) thereby
distorting actual adaptation (and mitigation) finance. A sustainable solution to this challenge
would be for developing countries such as Kenya to develop a strong adaptation finance tracking
systems, which identifies disaggregated sources of finance and the respective amounts.
According to (Odhengo et al., 2019), considerable progress has been made in this regard but

7
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

challenges such as lack of formulation of acceptable tracking indicators, and cross-departmental

system challenges limit take-off. This implies that there needs to be enhanced political and
technical goodwill towards facilitating the establishment of effective monitoring, evaluation and
verification system for adaptation finance. With such kind of data, the country would be able to
have solid information during negotiations, which can effectively communicate fair finance
status.

4. Conclusion

This paper has discussed the role of adaptation finance in Kenya and explored ways by which
transparency and inclusivity may be enhanced. The paper has shown that climate change
adaptation finance has an important role to play in the establishment of requisite institution
(policy, strategic and legislative) framework to address climate change adaptation; reducing
potential losses from climate change and enhancing economic returns. Despite the potential of
adaptation finance to contribute positively to these goals, key challenges, particularly an over-
reliance on external finances exist. This challenge may be addressed through enhanced
transparency and inclusivity, which can specifically be achieved through enhanced consultative
processes, improved governance, less dependence on external finance, data capture, analysis and
sharing.

5. References

African Development Bank (AfDB). (2019). Climate Change Impacts on Africa ’ s Economic
Growth.

Barret, S. (2015). Subnational Adaptation Finance Allocation: Comparing Decentralized and

Devolved Political Institutions in Kenya. Global Environmental Politics, 3(August), 46–64.
https://doi.org/10.1162/GLEP

Chaudhury, A., Helfgott, A., Thornton, T. F., & Sova, C. (2016). Participatory Adaptation
Planning and Costing Applications in Agricultural Adaptation in Western Kenya.
Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, 21(3), 301–322.

Femenías, P., & Thuvander, L. (2018). Transdisciplinary Research in the Built Environment: A
Question of Time. Technology Innovation Management Review, 8(8), 27–40.

8
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

https://doi.org/10.22215/timreview/1176

Global Commission on Adaptation. (2019). Adapt Now: a Global Call for Leadership on
Climate Resilience. 90. https://cdn.gca.org/assets/2019-
09/GlobalCommission_Report_FINAL.pdf

GoK. (2007). The Kenya vision 2030: A globally competitive and prosperous Kenya. October.

GoK. (2013). National Climate Change Action Plan 2013 -2017.

GoK. (2016). Climate Change Act. 11, 1–108. www.kenyalaw.org/.../kenyalex/Kenya/.../Acts

and Regul...%0A%0A

GoK. (2020). Kenya’s Updated Nationally Determined Contribution.

GoK (Government of Kenya). (2016). Kenya National Adaptation Plan 2017-2022. Ministry of
Environment and Natural Resources.

Hearn, J. (1998). The “NGO-isation” of Kenyan society: USAID and the restructuring of health
care. Review of African Political Economy, 75(October 2014), 89–100.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03056249808704294

Hedger, M., Caravani, A., Greenhill, R., Nakhooda, S., Norman, M., Barnard, S., Canales
Trujillo, N., Whitley, S., & Watson, C. (2014). Climate finance: is it making a difference?:
a review of the effectiveness of multilateral climate funds. 44(December).

Jean, A. (2017). Overcoming Obstacles in Global Climate Action from Copenhagen to Paris :
Issue Framing as a Tool to Understand Opportunities for Policy Change Overcoming
Obstacles in Global Climate Action from Copenhagen to Paris : Issue Framing as a Tool to
Understand Opportunities for Policy Change Jean A . Garrison.

Khan, M. S., Meghani, A., Liverani, M., Roychowdhury, I., & Parkhurst, J. (2018). How do
external donors influence national health policy processes? Experiences of domestic policy
actors in Cambodia and Pakistan. Health Policy and Planning, 33(2), 215–223.
https://doi.org/10.1093/heapol/czx145

Mohamed, S. F., Juma, P., Asiki, G., & Kyobutungi, C. (2018). Facilitators and barriers in the
formulation and implementation of tobacco control policies in Kenya: A qualitative study.

9
 Jackson Wachira, Student ID: I85/56284/2020 ICCA 704 Term Paper 2 by Dr. Maggie Opondo

BMC Public Health, 18(Suppl 1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-018-5830-x

Narita, D., Sato, I., Ogawada, D., & Matsumura, A. (2020). Integrating economic measures of
adaptation effectiveness into climate change interventions: A case study of irrigation
development in Mwea, Kenya. PLoS ONE, 15(12 December).
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0243779

Odhengo, P., Atela, J., Steele, P., Orindi, V., & Imbali, F. (2019). Climate Finance in Kenya:
Review and Future Outlook. August.

Okereke, C., & Agupusi, P. (2015). Homegrown Development in Africa : Reality or Illusion? (1st
ed.). Francis & Taylor Group.

Pelling, M. (2011). Pelling to Climate Change: From resilience to transformation. In Routledge

London 203: Vol. 2011 SRC.

Persson, Å., Klein, R. J. T., Kehler Siebert, C., Atteridge, A., Müller, B., Hoffmaister, J.,
Lazarus, M., & Takama, T. (2009). Adaptation Finance under a Copenhagen Agreed
Outcome. In Stockholm Environment Institute (Issue October). http://www.sei-
international.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/SEI-ResearchReport-PerssonA-
AdaptationFinanceUnderACopenhagenAgreedOutcome-2009.pdf

Saunders, N. (2019). Climate change adaptation finance: are the most vulnerable nations
prioritised? April, 42.

Scoville-Simonds, M. (2016). The Governance of Climate Change Adaptation Finance—An

Overview and Critique. Revue Internationale de Politique de Développement, 7.1.
https://doi.org/10.4000/poldev.2243

Vanderheiden, S. (2015). Justice and climate finance : Differentiating responsibility in the Green
Climate Fund. International Spectator, 50(1), 31–45.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03932729.2015.985523

Weikmans, R., & Roberts, J. T. (2019). The international climate finance accounting muddle: is
there hope on the horizon? Climate and Development, 11(2), 97–111.
https://doi.org/10.1080/17565529.2017.1410087

10