Economy

State sets up kitty to fund climate change drive

lake

Dried up Lake Kenyatta in Mpeketoni Lamu. FILE PHOTO | NMG

The National Treasury plans to set up a fund with an initial capital of Sh500 million to finance climate change innovation and mitigation.

According to draft regulations that the Treasury has formulated, the fund will finance climate change projects identified as priorities in terms of their ability to provide the needed mitigation.

The fund will provide loans, grants or equity for research and innovation in industry, policy formulation, academic studies and development of green technologies.

“There is established a Fund to be known as the Climate Change Fund. The initial capital shall be Sh500 million appropriated by Parliament in the financial year 2018/2019. The object of the Fund is to provide financing mechanisms to priority climate change actions and interventions,” say the regulations.

The rules are part of Kenya’s efforts towards meeting the challenges of climate change locally as well as the stipulations of the Paris Climate Change Agreement reached three years ago.

In two years there is supposed to be a review of the extent to which countries that are party to the agreement have met the goals of mitigating the change and related challenges.

The proposed fund is also intended to provide technical assistance to county governments to do interventions, including training their staff and the public on the climate change.

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The fund will have money from various sources including budget allocations by Parliament, receipts from international climate change funds, grants from donors, fees for services given, interest from investments as well as commercial benefits arising from research products financed by the fund.

The regulations say that spending from the fund will be on the basis of an annual work programme and cost estimates.

A council is to be set up to provide oversight for the fund including approving the budget and work programme.

The proposed law also seeks to insulate the entity from politics by expressly barring it from contributing to political parties and activities.

“Funds provided under these regulations shall not be used for supporting political parties and activities,” say the rules.

The council is expected to undertake its activities with an eye on their commercial viability, for example by mobilise resources by coming up with bankable proposals on adaptation and mitigation of climate change.