Climate finance governance is usually discussed at the level of international funds and national treasuries. Kenya’s Financing Locally-Led Climate Action programme (FLLoCA) has moved part of that conversation to county assemblies and ward committees, and its experience offers practical lessons.
The design
FLLoCA is a blended programme of roughly $295 million (about KSh38 billion) supported by the Kenyan government, the World Bank and the governments of Germany, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. According to the World Bank, about 90% of programme funding is meant to be spent at county and community level. It works through two grants: a County Climate Institutional Support grant that builds capacity, and a County Climate Resilience Investment grant that funds projects.
The resilience grants are performance-based. Counties qualify by meeting governance conditions, including setting up County Climate Change Funds and climate units, preparing climate action plans and co-investing their own money.
What has been achieved
- Counties have established 45 County Climate Change Funds and climate change units, and mainstreamed 45 county climate action plans into development planning.
- The programme has backed more than 2,200 locally identified projects in water, climate-smart agriculture, restoration, renewable energy and livelihoods.
- Disbursements of resilience grants reached about $108.75 million, above the initial projection of $85 million, and the World Bank approved an additional $30 million in April 2026.
- The Treasury disbursed KSh7.1 billion to 43 counties under the third and final cycle of the programme’s first phase.
Oversight is part of the model
Devolved money brings devolved risk. The Senate’s Finance and Budget Committee has inspected FLLoCA projects, praising Vihiga County, where more than KSh515 million has been invested jointly with the county, as a model of community involvement. That kind of scrutiny should be routine in every county, alongside audit reports and public access to project lists and budgets.
The continuity question
As the first phase closes, counties are looking for ways to sustain projects, including carbon markets, climate funds and private investment. The Treasury has also floated a Kenya Green Investment Bank to mobilise private capital. The governance test now is whether the institutions built under FLLoCA keep working when donor funding is no longer guaranteed. Climate units that are staffed, funded and accountable will be the clearest sign of success.
Sources: The Star: Counties embrace Treasury’s climate fund model · The Standard: Climate funds reach millions as counties post 87pc performance rate · National Treasury: FLLoCA disburses KSh7.1 billion · Dawan Africa: Senators praise Vihiga over climate funds
