By Eddah Waithaka
Day Two of the 2025 Climate Action Summit propelled Kenya’s climate dialogue forward, with top judicial, legislative, and community leaders declaring strong institutions and local action the non-negotiable pillars of a just transition.
The summit, convening at the Kenya School of Government, framed coordinated, well-financed, and inclusive action as the nation’s most critical strategy.
Speakers anchored this vision on three core principles: a robust judiciary, community ownership, and devolution-driven innovation.
Judiciary Vows to Hold Power Accountable
Hon. Justice Oscar Angote, Principal Judge of the Environment and Land Court, positioned the judiciary as the ultimate guardian of climate justice.
He affirmed the courts’ duty to protect the constitutional right to a clean and healthy environment.
“The courts protect not only the right to a habitable environment, but also the dignity and livelihoods of communities climate change affects,” Justice Angote stated.
“Our pursuit of a low-carbon future must never eclipse our constitutional duty to protect the vulnerable.”
He pledged the judiciary would continue to enforce principles of inclusion and accountability, ensuring all climate projects adhere to the Constitution’s vision of social justice.
“Judicial oversight must ensure that development never comes at the cost of ecological balance,” he declared.
Senate Touts Devolution as Kenya’s “Strategic Advantage”Echoing the theme of localized power, Senator Faki Mohamed Mwinyihaji, Chair of the Senate Committee on Lands, Environment and Natural Resources, placed counties at the forefront of the climate fight.
“Counties must not be passive recipients of national policy, they must lead and innovate local climate solutions,” Senator Faki asserted.
Citing diverse challenges from coastal erosion in Mombasa to community biogas projects in Nyandarua, he outlined the Senate’s priorities: predictable climate financing for counties, stronger accountability frameworks, and support for community-led green energy zones that generate jobs.
“Devolution is Kenya’s greatest strategic advantage in the climate era,” he added. “It allows us to respond locally, coordinate nationally, and lead globally.”
Community Ownership Drives River RestorationBishop Margaret Wanjiru, Chairperson of the Nairobi Rivers Commission, brought the focus directly to the people, championing community participation as the bedrock of sustainable restoration.
“No project can endure without local participation and shared responsibility,” Bishop Wanjiru stated.
She detailed the Commission’s strategy to weave community livelihoods into the Nairobi Rivers regeneration plan, transforming informal economic activities in areas like Grogan and Gikomba into organized, sustainable market spaces.
“We are not displacing communities; we are formalizing them,” she explained. “True sustainability arrives when the people who champion regeneration also become the beneficiaries of development.”
As Kenya prepares for COP30 in Brazil, the summit’s closing messages cemented a unified national stance: climate justice, multi-level coordination, and people-centered action will define Kenya’s path forward.
The Climate Action Summit continues tomorrow with sessions focused on unlocking climate finance and forging private sector partnerships.
