Kenya’s Non-Market Approaches to Climate Change: The 2026 Regulations Explained

Not every climate project in Kenya is heading toward a tradeable carbon credit, and the Climate Change Act (Non-Market Approaches) Regulations, 2026 formalise the alternative route. Where the existing carbon markets framework is built around generating and selling credits, this new framework is built around cooperation, technology transfer and international finance mobilisation, and it explicitly excludes market mechanisms. For businesses and project developers weighing how to structure a climate initiative, understanding which framework fits is now a threshold question. This article covers what the Regulations establish and how the non-market route works in practice.

The New Law: The Climate Change Act (Non-Market Approaches) Regulations, 2026

The Climate Change Act (Non-Market Approaches) Regulations, 2026 (Legal Notice 8 of 2026) were published in the Kenya Gazette and commenced on 12 February 2026. They are made under the Climate Change Act and give effect, at the national level, to Article 6.8 of the Paris Agreement, which establishes a framework for non-market approaches to international cooperation on climate change. The Regulations apply to every person engaged in non-market approaches, a scope broad enough to capture private sector project proponents alongside government bodies, civil society organisations and local communities.

What a Non-Market Approach Actually Is

The Regulations describe non-market approaches as voluntary cooperation between parties that supports sustainable development and climate goals without relying on the generation or trading of credits. Their stated objectives are to align Kenya’s national processes with the Article 6.8 framework, to build linkages and synergies among stakeholders pursuing cooperation opportunities, to provide a coordinated implementation framework supporting Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions, and to broaden participation by the public sector, private sector, civil society and local communities in delivering those Nationally Determined Contributions. In practice, this covers things like technology transfer, capacity building, policy support and international finance mobilisation for climate projects that are not structured as carbon offset or credit schemes.

Design and Implementation Requirements

Regulation 5 requires any non-market approaches programme, project or activity to be designed and implemented in a manner that respects human rights and fundamental freedoms, takes into account gender equity and the rights of marginalised communities, children, youth and persons with disabilities, and complies with environmental requirements under the Environmental Management and Co-ordination Act, including environmental impact assessments and audits where applicable. Projects must also facilitate public participation, and where a project involves community land, the project proponent must obtain free, prior and informed consent from the affected community before proceeding. These are substantive design conditions, not a formality, and a project proponent should build them into project design from the outset rather than treating them as a late-stage compliance step.

The National Non-Market Approaches Platform

Regulation 6 requires the Climate Change Directorate to establish and maintain a National Non-Market Approaches Platform, an online system that lets a project proponent submit a proposed non-market approach, records and exchanges information on cooperation opportunities, and keeps information on each recorded approach including its objectives, budget, location, beneficiaries, the type of support or cooperation requested, and the proponent’s contact details. The Platform is open to the public, which means a project’s basic details become publicly visible once it is submitted and recorded.

Submitting and Getting a Non-Market Approach Approved

A project proponent intending to submit a non-market approaches project must be guided by the priority interventions listed in the First Schedule to the Regulations, and implementation proceeds through Kenya’s National Climate Change Action Plan. Regulation 8 requires the proposal to be submitted on the prescribed form, after which the Directorate considers it and may constitute an ad hoc committee, comprising three Directorate representatives, a representative of the relevant county government, a representative of a civil society organisation operating in that county, and a representative of a relevant research institution. The committee must report its recommendation within thirty days, and the Directorate must inform the proponent of the outcome, in writing, within ninety days of the submission. A rejected proponent may apply to the Directorate for a review of the decision within ninety days of receiving it. Approved non-market approaches are published on the Platform.

Regulation 9 sets out what the Directorate actually looks for. A proposal must align with national priorities, prioritise cooperation that excludes market mechanisms and avoids overlapping with other frameworks, contribute to sustainable development including improved livelihoods and poverty eradication, have undergone public participation where it involves public or community land, and build in mechanisms for transparency and accountability. Where a proponent wants the project recognised internationally under Article 6.8, the Directorate additionally assesses whether the project can demonstrate mitigation or adaptation potential exceeding Kenya’s Nationally Determined Contributions through scalable interventions, whether it broadens public, private sector and civil society participation, whether it has a mechanism for mobilising international finance, technology or expertise, and whether it enables coordination across different instruments and institutions.

Why This Matters: Choosing Between Market and Non-Market Routes

The explicit exclusion of market mechanisms in regulation 9 is the point businesses need to hold onto. Kenya already has a carbon markets framework built around generating and trading credits, and a project structured as a carbon credit scheme does not belong on the Non-Market Approaches Platform. The non-market route instead suits projects seeking international cooperation, technology transfer, capacity building support or development finance, where the value proposition is not a saleable credit but access to partnerships, funding and technical assistance tied to Kenya’s climate commitments. A project developer, financier or corporate sustainability team weighing how to structure a proposed climate initiative should treat this as an early, structural decision, since the governance, review criteria and international recognition pathway differ materially between the two frameworks.

The public visibility built into the Platform is also worth factoring in. Because the Regulations require basic project information to be publicly available once recorded, project proponents should be deliberate about what they disclose in their submission, particularly around budget and beneficiary information, while still meeting the disclosure the Regulations require.