Kenya has developed a National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS 2010), National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP 2013), and a National Adaptation Plan (NAP 2015) - which provides a vision for a low carbon and climate resilient development pathway, while a National Climate Change Framework Policy and legislation are in their final stages of enactment to facilitate effective response to climate change. Kenya is operationalising these policies and plans through the implementation of climate change actions in various areas such as afforestation and reforestation, geothermal and other clean energy development, energy efficiency, climate smart agriculture, and drought management.

Kenya requires access to finance to deliver this comprehensive set of strategic frameworks and action plans and seeks to position itself for climate finance resource mobilisation, including access to Green Climate Fund (GCF) funds. The GCF is anticipated to be one of a range of funding channels to deliver on the long-term climate finance goal to mobilise US$100 billion per annum in climate finance by 2020 from a range of sources, both public and private. The GCF aims to offer real transformational change in climate finance, and seeks to support paradigm shifts towards low emission and climate resilient economic development pathways.

CDKN received a request from the Government of Kenya for support towards enhanced direct access to climate finance, specifically from the GCF. This project is designed to enhance Kenya’s prospects to access international sources of finance, by offering technical support to the Government of Kenya to develop an investment-grade adaptation project pipeline and proposals, a country-driven approach with a long-term programmatic view. The overall objective of the project was to enhance Kenya’s direct access to international climate finance for adaptation, specifically from the GCF, through developing an investment-grade adaptation project pipeline and proposals in line with the country’s development agenda and national policies and plans.

The specific objectives were to:

i. Enhance national capacity to identify and prioritise transformative investments for adaptation and to facilitate a strategic, country driven and programmatic approach to adaptation investment priorities through supporting multi-stakeholder engagement and consultation in line with GCF guidance;

ii. Undertake targeted skills enhancement, through on-the-job mentoring, support and skills building, to enhance direct access and monitor delivery of climate finance resources;

iii. Increase the likelihood of further access to climate finance through developing M&E frameworks and tools to measure and report on project outcomes.

iv. Develop national capacity to identify and access additional modalities of enhanced direct access to GCF funds, and promote country ownership and oversight, by developing a governance framework and tools;

v. Support lessons learning and knowledge sharing related to enhanced direct access to climate finance for adaptation investments through supporting effective use of existing national knowledge management platforms.

This project has:

1. Developed an investment-grade adaptation project pipeline
2. Conducted skills enhancement, through on-the-job mentoring, support and skills building of the relevant Government of Kenya entities to maximise opportunities from the GCF through to funding proposal development.
3. Developed three project concept notes and 1 full proposal for submission to the GCF.
4. Developed Lesson learning and knowledge sharing mechanisms

Read the Project Brief. Budget: £249,865