Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kiambu—Kenya’s most populous and economically significant urban counties—have conspicuously missed out on a substantial KSh 11.2 billion in climate resilience funding, following a deceision by the National Treasury to decentralize climate finance towards more rural counties. This allocation is part of the County Governments Additional Allocations Act, 2025, and is supported by the World Bank and Germany’s KfW to strengthen local defenses against climate change such as droughts and floods.
The Treasury recently disbursed KSh 6.97 billion to 42 counties under the second tranche of the County Climate Resilience Investment (CCRI) grants, a key component of the Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) program. An initiative designed to empower county governments to drive local climate adaptation and strengthen institutional capacity.
According to the Treasury Cabinet Secretary, “This second disbursement reinforces our dedication to empowering County Governments as key drivers of climate resilience.” While counties like Kakamega, Nandi, and Homa Bay received substantial allocations for initiatives such as water harvesting and sustainable agriculture, major urban areas were notably absent from the list of beneficiaries.
The exclusion of Nairobi, Kiambu, and Mombasa comes from their failure to meet eligibility criteria, which included dedicating 1.5% of their development budgets to climate adaptation and conducting Participatory Climate Risk Assessments (PCRA) at the ward level.
Officials have defended the decision by citing the existence of separate urban-focused programs like the Kenya Urban Support Programme (KUSP) and Big Cities Resilience and Urban Planning (BCRUP). However, the recent cancellation of a multi-billion Chinese-funded road tender for the Nairobi-Kiambu corridor—meant to ease congestion and improve infrastructure—further demonstrating the systemic challenges faced by urban centers. The cancellation, linked to concerns over procurement practices, highlights the urgent need for transparent, inclusive, and climate-resilient urban development strategies.
Given their vulnerability to extreme weather events, water scarcity, and urban heat island effects, the failure of these urban counties to secure climate funds raises serious questions about their preparedness, governance, and the urgency of establishing viable paths to access future support.
