Nairobi City County Chief Environment Officer Geoffrey Mosiria delivers an address at the Second Town Hall COP, calling for community-driven climate action and greater inclusion of local voices in shaping Kenya’s and the world’s climate agenda.
By Peace Muthoka.
Nairobi, Kenya – August 12, 2025 — Nairobi has reaffirmed its role as a driving force in global climate action, hosting the Second Town Hall COP with a powerful call to place community voices at the center of environmental decision-making.
The meeting, held on International Youth Day, drew government officials, diplomats, youth leaders, and climate advocates for a day of dialogue and visioning. Nairobi City County’s Chief Environment Officer, Geoffrey Mosiria, described the gathering as a space “where global ambition meets local action,” stressing that grassroots realities must shape both Kenya’s climate policies and the international agenda ahead of COP30 in Belém, Brazil.
He thanked the German Embassy, UN-Habitat, Urban Better, ICLEI Africa, C40 Cities, Plan International, and Ufanisi Research Network for their partnership in advancing Nairobi’s climate agenda.
The forum built on the city’s historic debut at the first Town Hall COP in 2023, which fed Nairobi’s perspectives into the Global Stocktake at COP28. This year’s focus turned to Kenya’s upcoming Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC 3.0) and the urgent need to address climate impacts already felt in informal settlements and vulnerable neighborhoods.
“Extreme heat, floods, food insecurity, and energy poverty are not distant threats—they are here now,” Mosiria said. “Yet the communities most affected are too often excluded from the decisions that could change their lives.”
He pointed to the CHAMP initiative, which Kenya has embraced, as an opportunity to make cities hubs of climate innovation, equity, and real-world solutions. The timing, he noted, was symbolic: “Your leadership is the present,” he told young participants. “Your ideas, actions, and demands will shape the Nairobi of 2050.”
Discussions spanned energy access, just transitions, adaptation and resilience, climate financing, and greater participation in global processes. The day was set to end with a collaborative visioning session for a climate-resilient Nairobi, underscoring the belief that change begins with inclusion.
Reaffirming the county’s commitment, Mosiria pledged to institutionalize local climate dialogues, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that Nairobi’s priorities are reflected in national and global climate strategies.
“There is no just transition without local inclusion,” he concluded. “There is no climate ambition without community ownership. And there is no sustainable Nairobi without you.”
