Kenya is set to host of the 11th Conference on Climate Change and Development in Africa ahead of the Africa Climate Summit.
As the region gets ready for the conference that is expected to come up with detailed analytical, data-driven and evidence-based recommendations on the various sub themes of the Summit, the Nairobi County Assembly has not been left out as it gets ready to table Climate Change Bill.
The bill which is in line with the climate change topic has been proposed by the Nairobi South Member of County Assembly (MCA), Ms Waithera Chege.
Through the Nairobi County Climate Change Management Bill 2023, the member seeks to mainstream climate change in different sectors within the county.
The proposed bill will be tabled before the County Assembly for the First Reading when the members are back from recess.
Among the purposes that the bill seeks to highlight includes initiating and coordinating financing of climate change adaptation and mitigation projects at the community level, facilitating community-initiated climate change adaptation and mitigation projects, and seeking and receiving grants from the National; government and relevant implementing partners among others.
Committee
The proposed bill seeks to establish a Steering Committee which will be appointed by the Governor, which will be known as the Nairobi City County Climate Change Steering Committee, chaired by the governor.
The functions of the Committee will be to mainstream climate change projects, programs and activities in County planning and budgeting, approving the County Climate change funding proposals as recommended by County planning Climate Change Planning Committee, mobilizing resources for climate change actions in the county, monitoring, disbursement, overseeing budget execution, and ensuring coordination among institutions implementing climate change programs.
Also, the bill, through its committee on recommendation of the Executive Committee Member in consultation with relevant Executive Committee Members impose duties relating to climate change on any public entity operating within the country.
Through the bill, every public entity operating within the county shall the duty to mainstream climate change into sectorial strategies, perform its statutory functions in a manner that contributes to the implementation of Climate Plan, support the steering committee, and report annually to the committee on the status and progress and performance and implementation of all assigned climate change duties and functions.
The bill from the Nairobi South member comes as the National Treasury, through a World Bank funded project names Nairobi County Government among the three counties with absence of climate resilient activities.
According to the Treasury, Kiambu, Kisumu and Nairobi counties have failed to put in place a climate change plan, and also failed to take part in Participatory Climate Risk Assessment at the ward levels.
