Turkana Governor Josphat Nanok has signed into law the Climate Change Act and Policy. The legislation will provide for legal and institutional framework for the adaptive and mitigative climate change interventions.
Deputy Governor Peter Lotethiro, who is the acting County Executive for Water, Environment and Mineral Resources said the act will be applied by the county to “mainstream climate change responses into planning and implementation of development programmes by integrating climate change in all functions across the County Government.”
He said the legislation met requirement for the World Bank-funded programme on Financing Locally Led Climate Change Action (FLLCCA) which required that counties pass the Climate Change Bill, policy and regulations. The programme will support the government of Kenya in strengthening local resilience to the effects of climate change and will include decentralised financing on community led actions, technology and innovations.
The DG outlined how the bill will be applied in all sectors of the economy to implement coordinated response on climate change and its effects by all actors and stakeholders. The legislation will ensure inclusive and effective management of climate change impacts by enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthen resilience and reduce vulnerability to climate change, support climate change initiatives, driven by communities and enforce duties and rewards to private sector contribution to achieving low carbon climate-resilient development.
He added that the act will enable the County facilitate effective public participation on climate change by raising awareness, capacity development and improved access to information. To implement climate change response, the DG revealed that the legislation will establish framework for mobilization of resources and set mechanism for transparent management of the resources.