Mainstreaming climate change resilience into development planning in Kenya

The report examines Kenya's efforts to mainstream climate change resilience into its development planning, highlighting the role of the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP). It details the institutional arrangements, such as the National Climate Change Council, and the use of the 'Threshold 21' model to forecast climate impacts on sectors like agriculture and energy. While political will is evident, the report notes a heavy reliance on unpredictable external donor funding and a need for a stronger legislative backbone to support policy frameworks.

• Climate change significantly impacts Kenya's economy, with droughts and flooding estimated to cost approximately 2.4 per cent of GDP. Agriculture, which represents about 20 per cent of GDP, is particularly sensitive, and other sectors like tourism and trade are vulnerable to climate-driven disruptions.
• Kenya has demonstrated political will to mainstream adaptation through the creation of the National Climate Change Response Strategy (NCCRS) in 2010 and the National Climate Change Action Plan (NCCAP) in 2012. These are being integrated into 'Vision 2030', the national development plan, and have been mainstreamed into all 47 counties.
• The government utilizes the 'Threshold 21' (T21) system dynamics model to forecast the trajectory of national development under various climate scenarios. The model predicts that temperatures will rise from 23°C in 2010 to 28.02°C by 2050, impacting agriculture, energy, water, and forestry.
• Institutional coordination is spread across multiple entities, including the National Climate Change Council (NCCC) for high-level guidance and the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources (MEMR) as the lead agency. However, the MEMR is noted to be understaffed and lacking sufficient qualified officers in climate change adaptation.
• The estimated investment required to implement the NCCAP and adapt to climate impacts is 1 trillion Kenyan shillings (US$12.76 billion) for the period 2013 to 2017. Kenya relies heavily on volatile external donor funding, with over 90% of climate finance coming from external sources in 2012.
• While policy frameworks like the NCCRS exist, the report argues that a legislative backbone is missing, noting that a climate change bill was debated inconclusively in the previous parliament.

APA

Nzau, V. M. (2013). Mainstreaming climate change resilience into development planning in Kenya. Climate and Development Knowledge Network. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Kenya_PRESS_0.pdf

Chicago

Nzau, Vincent Mutie. Mainstreaming climate change resilience into development planning in Kenya. Climate and Development Knowledge Network, 2013. https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Kenya_PRESS_0.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Nzau |first1=Vincent Mutie |title=Mainstreaming climate change resilience into development planning in Kenya |publisher=Climate and Development Knowledge Network |date=April 2013 |url=https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Kenya_PRESS_0.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{nzau2013mainstreaming, author = {Nzau, Vincent Mutie}, title = {{Mainstreaming climate change resilience into development planning in Kenya}}, institution = {Climate and Development Knowledge Network}, year = {2013}, month = apr, url = {https://cdkn.org/sites/default/files/files/Kenya_PRESS_0.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }