A court order blocking appointments to the Kenya Climate Change Council (KCCC) has dealt a blow to efforts to activate the critical agency that has been in limbo since it was created in 2016.
Concern is mounting that a fresh round of court battles over appointments to KNCCC will undermine climate action in Kenya amid the worsening impacts of climate change.
Parliament created the institution under the Climate Change Act to coordinate and oversee the implementation of the country’s national climate change response strategy. This includes administering a fund to tackle climate change and setting targets for regulating greenhouse gas emissions. But KCCC is yet to get off the ground due to litigation over appointments.
Earlier this week, a Nairobi court barred Presidential nominees to KCCC from assuming office following a petition by two organizations, the Mt Kenya Network Forum and the Indigenous People National Steering Committee.
The petitioners challenged President William Ruto’s February 20th nomination of Emily Mwende Waita, John Kioli, Umar Omar and George Odera Outa.
They alleged that the nominations lacked transparency and public participation by excluding civil society from the process of selecting their representatives.
The issue will come up for court hearing in mid-April. The appointees were scheduled for parliamentary vetting within a month of their nomination.
The Climate Change Act provides that KNCCC, under the chairmanship of the country’s President, comprises representatives from government ministries, the private sector, academia, civil society and Indigenous Peoples.
It states that civil society representatives should be nominated by the most representative registered national umbrella association working on climate change. In addition, the Indigenous Peoples’ representative should be from a marginalized community and possess knowledge and experience in indigenous knowledge.
Reacting to the petition, the Kenya Climate Change Working Group (KCCWG), a network of civil society organizations chaired by Kioli, one of the appointees to the Council, is calling the petitioners to withdraw the court challenge and allow the council to start working. It is running an online campaign to galvanize public support.
“It’s six years of waiting for the NCCC to be inaugurated. It’s now here! The nominees are capable, we’re all here to hold them to account. Let’s support our call to withdraw the case,” read a KCCWG Twitter message.
Similarly, the Sustainable Environment Watch network termed the petition a “setback” for climate action in Kenya.
“There is no time to meander in the court corridors. We need to put aside self-interest and focus on working together. It’s not the first time we’ve had such cases, and it cost us six years of climate adaptation projects, climate funding and many lives and livelihoods,” it said in a statement.