THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN KENYA

The report evaluates the Climate Justice Movement (CJM) in Kenya, highlighting its role in shaping the Climate Change Act of 2016 and its ongoing efforts in policy advocacy and community resilience. While the movement is diverse—comprising CBOs, NGOs, and indigenous groups—it faces significant challenges, including shrinking civic space, internal fragmentation, and limited inclusion of Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) in formal decision-making. The study recommends operationalizing the CJM engagement framework, resolving power struggles over civil society representation in the National Climate Change Council, and adopting intersectional, gender-transformative approaches to climate action.

• The Climate Justice Movement (CJM) in Kenya is composed of a diverse array of actors, with Community Based Organizations (CBOs) representing the largest group at approximately 31%, followed by locally registered NGOs (25%), individual community members (21%), and informal groupings (20%).
• The CJM has been instrumental in establishing Kenya's climate governance framework, contributing to the promulgation of the 2010 Constitution, the enactment of the Climate Change Act of 2016—the first of its kind in Africa—and the development of National and County Climate Change Action Plans.
• Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (IPLCs) face extreme vulnerability due to historical marginalization and dependence on climate-sensitive natural resources, yet they are frequently excluded from formal government decision-making processes.
• Civic space for climate and environmental defenders in Kenya is shrinking, with reports of violence, harassment, and illegal evictions of indigenous communities to make way for infrastructure projects like the Lake Turkana Wind Power project and the LAPSSET Corridor.
• The operationalization of key national climate institutions is stalled due to power struggles over civil society representation on the National Climate Change Council and disagreements regarding the administration of the National Climate Change Fund.
• Climate justice efforts at the county level focus on advocacy, monitoring, and service provision, utilizing tools like the Mulika Tracking Tool in Marsabit County to hold governments accountable for ward development funds.
• Gender mainstreaming in climate policy is hindered by a lack of technical knowledge among policymakers and a deficiency in sex-disaggregated data, necessitating a shift from 'gender equality' to 'gender justice'.
• The movement is hampered by internal fragmentation, a lack of coordinated fronts for policy engagement, and an over-reliance on short-term donor funding that often prioritizes donor agendas over local needs.

APA

Abuya, N., Otieno, C., Nyauma, V., & Njoki, H. J. (n.d.). THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN KENYA. Natural Justice. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Final-Report-on-The-state-of-the-climate-justice-movement-in-Kenya.pdf

Chicago

Abuya, Nicholas, Collins Otieno, Virginia Nyauma, and Hilda Joy Njoki. THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN KENYA. Natural Justice, n.d. https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Final-Report-on-The-state-of-the-climate-justice-movement-in-Kenya.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Abuya |first1=Nicholas |last2=Otieno |first2=Collins |last3=Nyauma |first3=Virginia |last4=Njoki |first4=Hilda Joy |title=THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN KENYA |publisher=Natural Justice |url=https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Final-Report-on-The-state-of-the-climate-justice-movement-in-Kenya.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{abuyandstate, author = {Abuya, Nicholas and Otieno, Collins and Nyauma, Virginia and Njoki, Hilda Joy}, title = {{THE STATE OF THE CLIMATE JUSTICE MOVEMENT IN KENYA}}, institution = {Natural Justice}, url = {https://naturaljustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Final-Report-on-The-state-of-the-climate-justice-movement-in-Kenya.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }