COP31: Who Will Answer for Kenya’s Climate Money?

As Kenya prepares for the UN climate summit in Türkiye, its greatest test is whether climate financing reaches vulnerable communities, delivers results, and can be accounted for.

For Halima Sharif Abdul Kadir, climate change is measured in lost livestock, scarce water and the struggle to put food on the table.

A woman living with a disability from Kajiado County, she says prolonged drought compounds the challenges facing women and girls with disabilities in pastoral communities.

As Kenya prepares for COP31 in Türkiye, she wants climate commitments to translate into practical support for people living through the crisis.

“We lose a lot of our livestock. We have challenges in fetching water because of the scarcity of water,” says Halima, a member of the Nasaru Women’s Group an indigenous, grassroots, women-led community-based organisation in Kajiado West Constituency, Kajiado County.

Through her advocacy, she highlights how drought disproportionately affects women and girls with disabilities and why climate finance must reach the communities most exposed to its impacts.

Her experience raises a critical question ahead of the climate negotiations: who ensures that climate finance allocated in the name of vulnerable communities actually reaches them?

At the Kenya Climate Leadership Conference 2026, held ahead of COP31, civil society representatives called for stronger accountability, easier access to funding and closer scrutiny of how climate resources are used.

Faith Ngige, national coordinator of the Kenya Platform for Climate Governance, says international promises must translate into government action.

“Global commitments do not implement themselves,” she says. “They must find expression in national policies, in national strategies, in national plans, in national budgets.”

But allocating money is only the first step. Authorities must also demonstrate how it is spent, which communities benefit and whether projects deliver the intended protection against climate shocks.

Kenya’s Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme is designed to support climate resilience through county governments and community-led priorities. Its framework includes performance assessments and measures intended to strengthen planning, implementation and accountability.

However, the existence of oversight systems does not, by itself, establish that every project is reaching its intended beneficiaries.

Andrew Letting of Transparency International Kenya identifies a double challenge: inadequate climate finance and concerns about transparency, integrity and access.

“The climate finance that is there is not enough,” he says, noting that demand is high while governance challenges can further complicate access.

His argument raises questions for county and national authorities: Are funds being released on time? Are procurement decisions transparent? Are completed projects independently verified? And can residents report stalled projects or suspected misuse without facing barriers?

These are questions of public accountability, not simply administrative procedure. When a water project fails or adaptation funding is delayed, the consequences are borne by households that remain exposed to drought, flooding and food insecurity.

Ijait Aluku, from Haki Jamii, says bureaucracy and limited technical capacity can prevent community-led organisations from navigating climate-finance systems.

He calls for better coordination among government, development partners and civil society, alongside stronger inclusion of communities in decisions affecting their livelihoods.

For Halima, the challenge is also whether programmes designed to support local climate action are making a meaningful difference.

“There are climate financed projects in my county, but are still not impactful,” she says.

County governments need to publish clear information on climate budgets, procurement, project progress and expenditure, while oversight bodies should investigate complaints and follow up on audit findings. Residents should also have accessible ways to question decisions and influence priorities.

Letting argues that Kenya should push for predictable, grant-based international climate finance while strengthening domestic allocations to reduce reliance on loans.

But funding alone will not guarantee results. Transparency must extend from the negotiating table to the village, with communities able to see what was promised, what was spent and what changed.

Halima also wants women, young people and persons with disabilities involved in decisions.

“We need to be on the table when we negotiate,” she says.

As Kenya heads to COP31, implementation must mean more than announcing commitments. It must mean traceable spending, measurable results and consequences when public promises are not delivered.

For Halima, accountability will ultimately be measured in whether climate action helps protect livelihoods, secure water and make life safer before the next drought deepens the crisis.