On Thursday, President William Ruto officially launched the National Climate Action Project, known as ClimateWorX, a nationwide initiative aimed at creating 200,000 job opportunities for young people across Kenya. The project focuses on environmental restoration within communities while combating the effects of climate change.
Dubbed ClimateWorX Mtaani, this project is designed to improve urban life by greening public spaces and restoring polluted rivers. During the launch event held in Korogocho, along the heavily polluted Nairobi River, President Ruto emphasized the transformative nature of the program.
“ClimateWorX is a powerful, catalytic intervention aimed at achieving ecological restoration while maintaining public infrastructure and urban settlements through sustainable, labor-intensive public works,” he said.
The first phase of the ClimateWorX project in Nairobi County will begin on October 1, 2024, with the employment of 20,000 youth. These efforts will complement and expand on the work of Komp Green Youth, an environmental conservation group collaborating with the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) to clean up the Nairobi River.
In the following month, the program will be rolled out in other major cities, including Kisumu, Mombasa, Eldoret, and Nakuru, engaging an additional 40,000 youth. By early November, 10,000 more young people will be assigned to other parts of Nairobi.
By December, the project will reach all counties across Kenya, employing a total of 139,902 more youth, fulfilling its goal of creating 200,000 green jobs.
President Ruto explained that the vision of ClimateWorX is to “unleash talent and potential in community service, entrepreneurship, employment, and further education.” He assured that job opportunities under this program would be distributed equitably across the country, without favoritism.
The main focus of the ClimateWorX project is to eliminate illegal waste disposal and pollution in urban areas while helping communities build resilience against the adverse effects of climate change. The President urged relevant agencies to strictly enforce waste management regulations to protect the environment.
He also called on the private sector and development partners to collaborate with the government in making the ClimateWorX project a success.
During the same event, President Ruto announced that the government will provide 40,000 social housing units for those displaced by floods from the El Niño rains, with residents only required to pay KSh 3,000 per month in rent.
The event was attended by Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, several Cabinet Secretaries, members of the diplomatic corps, and various partners involved in the ClimateWorX project.
