This Act provides a framework for promoting climate resilient low carbon economic development. It aims to (Art 3-2):
“mainstream climate change responses into development planning, decision making and implementation;
build resilience and enhance adaptive capacity to the impacts of climate change;
formulate programmes and plans to enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of human and ecological systems to the impacts of climate change;
mainstream and reinforce climate change disaster risk reduction in strategies and actions of public and private entities;
mainstream intergenerational and gender equity in all aspects of climate change responses;
provide incentives and obligations for private sector contributions to achieving low carbon climate resilient development;
promote low carbon technologies to improve efficiency and reduce emissions intensity by facilitating approaches and uptake of technologies that support low carbon, and climate resilient development;
facilitate capacity development for public participation in climate change responses through awareness creation, consultation, representation and access to information;
mobilize and transparently manage public and other financial resources for climate change response;
provide mechanisms for, and facilitate climate change research and development, training and capacity building;
mainstream the principle of sustainable development into the planning for and decision making on climate change response; and
integrate climate change into the exercise of power and functions of all levels of governance, and to enhance cooperative climate change governance between national government and county governments”.
The Act establishes a National Climate Change Council, chaired by the President, with Deputy President as vice-chair, that provides an overarching national climate change coordination mechanism. It also establishes the Climate Change Directorate – Secretariat to the Council and the lead agency of the government on national climate change plans and actions.
The prerogatives of the National Climate Change Council include (Art 6):
ensure the mainstreaming of the climate change function by the national and county governments;
approve and oversee implementation of the National Climate Change Action Plan
advise the national and county governments on legislative, policy and other measures necessary for climate change response and attaining low carbon climate change resilient development;
approve a national gender and intergenerational responsive public education awareness strategy and implementation programme;
provide policy direction on research and training on climate change including on the collation and dissemination of information relating to climate change to the national and county governments, the public and other stakeholders;
provide guidance on review, amendment and harmonization of sectoral laws and policies in order to achieve the objectives of the Act;
administer the Climate Change Fund;
set the targets for the regulation of greenhouse gas emissions”. The 2023 amendment to the Climate Change Act aims to regulate carbon markets. The Council can now give guidance and direction on carbon markets.