Download kenya climate change ap- policy and framework

Kenya’s Climate
Change Action Plan
REPUBLIC OF KENYA
MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT AND
MINERAL RESOURCES
K
enya is fully dedicated to putting in place
appropriate policies, legal and institutional
framework that will enhance resilience to
cope with a changing climate. Within the overarching
National Climate Change Response Strategy Action
Plan, work on an enabling policy and regulatory
framework is being undertaken under Subcomponent
2 (SC2).
Subcomponent 2, therefore, seeks to review
international, regional and national policy and
legislative instruments relating to climate change
with a view to developing a policy and regulatory
framework that promotes coherence, coordination
and cooperative governance from the national to local
levels. In addition, SC2 will make recommendations
on the most appropriate institutional architecture to
provide leadership on climate change matters in the
country.
ENABLING POLICIES FOR EFFECTIVE
IMPLEMENTATION
Development policies and plans at all levels need
to consider the impacts of climate change. This
is premised on the fact that both adaptation and
mitigation response options need to be implemented
by a variety of actors at international, regional,
national and sub-national levels. Therefore,
engagement of multiple stakeholders at different
levels would invariably call for reforming climaterelated governance and institutions.
Kenya has at least 90 national policies and laws that
are relevant to climate change with yet additional
regulations, by-laws and other statutory instruments
extending down to the local level. Almost all these
policy instruments have no provisions that directly
or indirectly have considerations for adaptation and
mitigation. Moreover, perverse incentives, unclear
jurisdictions and regulatory gaps could prohibit
effective implementation of priority adaptation and
mitigation options.
Enabling Policy and
Regulatory Framework
KEY MESSAGES
1. Kenya’s Constitution elevates issues of
environment and development as human rights,
which effectively lays a firm foundation for climate
change work.
2. The Constitution requires that all existing
policies, laws and other instruments be aligned
to it. This provides an opportunity for policy and
legal reforms that will integrate climate change
considerations.
3. Based on the in-depth analysis of policy
instruments at different levels together with
a high level of stakeholder involvement in the
consultations, the emergent policy instruments will
have a high degree of ownership with the Kenyan
people as they will respond to their needs and
aspirations.
4. Clear responsibilities and roles will be critical
in enhancing coherence, coordination and
implementation of priority adaptation and mitigation
options.
5. Capacity development of institutions and
human manpower is critical in ensuring effective
implementation of the resultant policy instruments.
KENYA’S COLLABORATIVE LEGAL REFORM PROCESS
With the promulgation of the Constitution, Kenya is
in the process of reforming all existing policies and
laws. This provides an opportunity to mainstream
climate change considerations in all development
planning and climate-related sectors. In this regard,
SC2 aims to put in place a robust and effective policy
and regulatory framework that will enhance the long
term attainment of climate resilient growth and low
carbon development pathway.