House caucuses on Climate Change, National Treasury convene for crucial workshop on climate change governance

Naivasha, Nakuru County
Friday, May 23, 2025

Lawmakers from both houses of Parliament have gathered this morning for a vital five-day workshop focused on Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLOCA) and the integral role of parliamentarians in climate initiatives.

Organized by the Parliament of Kenya, under the joint efforts of the Parliamentary Caucus on Climate Action and the National Treasury, the workshop aims to deepen MPs' understanding of climate change and secure their political backing for climate action, especially the FLLOCA program.

The sensitization workshop is designed to ensure legislators are well-informed and committed to implementing proposed legislative and financial interventions.

Besides the participation of the bi-cameral caucus co-chaired by Homa Bay Senator, Sen. Moses Kajwang’, and Njoro MP, Hon. Charity Kathambi, the workshop has drawn attendance from the Members of the respective Houses’ Committees responsible for Environment and Climate Change.

According to the program’s brief, the workshop is intended to build on momentum from observations made by select MPs at the Twenty-Ninth Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP29), where the need for a comprehensive sensitization forum for all parliamentarians was emphasized.

During the opening session of the workshop earlier today , Hon. Charity Kathambi, who chairs the Caucus in the National Assembly, raised concerns that despite Parliamentarians playing a key role in approving budgets for Climate Change programs, they had been excluded from their implementation.

“This caucus has over 150 MPs who are passionate about climate change issues. Why are they not here? Because they are discouraged by their exclusion from the implementation of these programs. Why has the National Treasury decided to only work with Governors and MCAs excluding MPs who lobby and approve the program’s budget?” she inquired.

Echoing these sentiments, Sen. Kajwang’ called for more collaboration between FLLOCA and legislators, noting that Parliament is ready to work with all stakeholders advocating for the climate action agenda.

Sen. Kajwang’ further underscored the need for FLLOCA to continuously enhance the capacity of Members on Climate Change issues, enabling them to negotiate for better agreements and from an informed perspective.

“There are a number of issues that you need to scale up our capacity on. For instance, not all Members of Parliament understand what climate action agreements exist or even what is contained in treaties such as the Paris Agreement. You also need to bring us to speed with the climate change programs that the government is implementing across the country for our effective oversight ,” Sen. Kajwang’ stated.

About FFLOCA

The FLLOCA program is a multi-partner funded initiative, supported by the World Bank, Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, and the Government of Kenya. It focuses on capacity building, climate data management, and the implementation of locally prioritized projects.

The forum is expected to provide participating lawmakers with insights into innovative financing mechanisms for climate action, with a specific focus on the FLLOCA model.