Why COP30 summit matters to Kenya

For many people, COP remains an unfamiliar term. It stands for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the global treaty that guides how countries respond to climate change.

Each year, governments meet to review progress, negotiate new commitments, and mobilise support to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

This year’s summit is especially significant. The year 2025 is the deadline for countries to submit updated Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), the national climate action plans under the Paris Agreement.

Kenya submitted its Second Nationally Determined Contribution to the UNFCCC in April 2025, which outlines its climate action plan for 2031–2035, setting stronger targets on renewable energy, climate-smart agriculture, and forest restoration. COP30 will test how such national ambitions are supported through finance, technology, and partnerships to ensure that plans lead to real change.

Climate finance remains a top priority. Negotiators will advance the Baku to Belém Roadmap, which seeks to mobilise at least $1.3 trillion annually by 2035 to support developing countries.

This includes operationalising the Loss and Damage Fund, which will issue its first call for proposals. For Kenya, access to these funds is vital to bridge the gap between policy and practice, particularly for adaptation projects, water management, and community resilience programs.

Adaptation and resilience will also feature prominently. COP30 seeks to move the world from planning to implementation through a Global Goal on Adaptation that tracks how countries reduce vulnerability.

This directly complements Kenya’s National Climate Change Action Plan, which emphasises locally led adaptation, and the environmental goals of Vision 2030 that aim to achieve a clean, secure, and sustainable environment for all citizens.

Hosted in the Amazon, COP30 will also place forests and nature at the centre of global discussions. Brazil’s proposed Tropical Forests Forever Facility aligns well with Kenya’s 15 billion tree campaign and ongoing forest landscape restoration efforts.

Beyond negotiations, the COP30 Action Agenda will unite governments, businesses, youth, and civil society in a shared call for action known as Global Mutirão, a collective community effort to drive transformation across energy, food, and human development systems.

For Kenya, COP30 is more than a global event. It is a reminder that climate decisions made in Belém will shape national priorities at home, from climate finance to adaptation and nature-based solutions.

Our voice in these conversations must be strong, informed, and centered on building resilience for people and the planet.

The writer is a climate action enthusiast and a communications specialist at Windward Communications Consultancy