PLANET ACTION: Kenya meets April 30 deadline by submitting its second climate action plan to the UNFCCC

Kenya has submitted its second Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

This means that Kenya has successfully met its submission deadline of April 30, 2025, which demonstrates its unwavering dedication and commitment to advancing global climate action.

The submission outlines its climate change blueprint for the period January 1, 2031, to December 31, 2035.

The NDCs are national climate action plans by each country under the Paris Agreement.

They outline how each country plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change, to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C.

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The NDCs are updated every five years, reflecting increasingly higher ambition and taking into account each country's capacity.

Dr Deborah Barasa Cabinet Secretary for Environment, Climate Change and Forestry said the NDC underscores Kenya’s continued commitment to bold, inclusive and fast forward-looking climate action, despite increasing global uncertainty.

“This NDC was developed through a comprehensive, whole-of-society approach engaging a diverse range of stakeholders, ensuring it captures the country’s diverse perspectives and aspirations,” said Ms Barasa in a statement.

Key commitments and highlights include a climate-resilient vision, where Kenya envisions a climate resilient society where livelihoods, communities, socio-economic sectors, infrastructure and ecosystems, will thrive despite the current and projected impacts of climate change.

The NDC outlines bold adaptation measures, as well as loss and damage measures aligned to this vision.

Under the mitigation ambition, Kenya aims to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions by 3596 by 2035, compared to the Business as Usual (BAU) projection of 2 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq).

This translates to an emissions reduction of 75.25 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO2eq) by 2035.

On implementation criteria, Kenya will mobilise domestic resources to deliver 2096 of the emission reductions while seeking international support, including finance, investments, technology development and transfer, and capacity building, as well as participation in carbon markets to achieve the remaining 8096.

It is estimated that USD510 billion is required for mitigation and adaptation actions across sectors from January 1, 2031 till December 31, 2035, of which, depending on national circumstances, approximately 19 per cent (USD USD10.5 billion, at USD2.1 trillion per year) of this budget will be from domestic sources.

On catalysts for growth, the implementation of this Kenya’s new NDC (2031-2035) is expected to drive transformative economic development and innovation, and inclusive growth across key sectors of the Kenyan economy.

Since the NDC implementation period extends beyond Kenya Vision 2030, the NDC will be revised to align with the country’s forthcoming Long-Term Development Vision once finalized to align with long-term development.

“Kenya reaffirms her leadership in global climate change and calls upon the international community to support this bold and ambitious agenda, which aims to unlock sustainable development opportunities,” said Barasa.