Kenya becomes Africa’s first recipient of UN-backed loss and damage support, using the funds to identify communities affected by droughts, floods, crop failures and other climate disasters.
Kenya has become funding under a landmark United Nations-backed climate loss and damage initiative, with the money set to help identify communities that have suffered climate-related losses over the past decade.
The Sh90 million ($700,000) allocation comes from the Santiago Network on Loss and Damage, a Switzerland-based UN mechanism financed through voluntary contributions from developed countries and the wider international community.
The funding will be administered by the Kenyan government and used to identify communities affected by climate-induced droughts, floods, crop failures and other extreme weather events across the country.
Kenya’s Principal Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry, Festus Ng’eno, announced the achievement during a recent UN climate meeting in Bonn, Germany. He said the support marks a significant milestone, with Kenya becoming only the second country worldwide to benefit from the facility. The Pacific island nation of Vanuatu was the first recipient.
In a Facebook statement, Kenya’s State Department for Environment and Climate Change said the country had never fully quantified the scale of losses caused by climate disasters despite experiencing some of East Africa’s most severe climate shocks.
“Despite enduring some of East Africa’s most devastating climate shocks, Kenya has never fully measured the true scale of what has been lost. That is set to change,” the department said.
Environmental advocates welcomed the development as a step toward turning climate commitments into practical action.
“It is long overdue for countries on the frontline of the climate crisis to receive support to build resilience,” Fred Njehu, a Pan-African political strategist with Greenpeace, told the Daily Nation.
“Kenya’s allocation points to shifting climate actions, from frameworks, roadmaps, and dialogues to actual implementation,” he added.
The funding arrives as African nations continue pressing for climate justice and reparations from countries historically responsible for the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions driving global warming.
Kenyan President William Ruto has repeatedly called for improved financing mechanisms to accelerate economic growth across Africa. The country has also adopted ambitious measures aimed at addressing the climate crisis.
Jeremiah Kioli, chairman of the Kenya Climate Change Working Group, told that Kenya’s selection as the first African recipient of loss and damage funding reflects its commitment to climate action and resource mobilisation.
According to Kioli, a key objective of the funding is to establish systems capable of assessing climate-related losses that may eventually require compensation.
“How do you measure loss and damage? You need the systems, just as it is with the Green Climate Fund,” Kioli told Mongabay.
Describing the development as a major achievement, Kenya’s Environment Ministry said the support highlights the country’s role in global climate leadership and resilience-building efforts.
“This achievement underscores Kenya’s leadership in climate action and its commitment to building resilience against the growing impacts of climate change,” the ministry said, as reported by Capital News.
Source: Mongabay
