Implementing a climate action plan: lessons and inspiring examples from African cities
Published: 14 Sep 2026
Success Stories
All CoM SSA signatories commit to developing a Sustainable Energy Access and Climate Action Plan (SEACAP). But a climate action plan only delivers impact when its priorities are reflected in budgets, institutions, projects and investments. A SEACAP is therefore not the end of the journey: it provides the evidence base and strategic direction for implementation.
Moving from plan to action requires climate priorities to be integrated into local government systems, backed by political and institutional ownership. These priorities need to be translated into implementable projects, connected to appropriate finance, and continuously monitored and strengthened. In this article, we share approaches CoM SSA signatories are using to shift from planning to on-the-ground action.
The SEACAP sets out strategies and actions for sustainable, resilient and low-emission development, bringing together climate change adaptation and mitigation while addressing access to secure, affordable and sustainable energy. Importantly, it provides local governments with an evidence-based framework through which climate and energy priorities can be connected to wider development planning, budgeting and implementation.
Over the years, the planning process has evolved to become more efficient and accessible. Through CoM SSA, signatories have access to tools, guidance and capacity-building resources designed to strengthen the SEACAP process. The SEACAP course, available here on the CoM SSA Learning Portal, provides practical guidance to help local governments develop robust, evidence-based SEACAPs, including approaches for working in data-scarce environments and responsibly addressing data gaps.
Nakuru County (Kenya)’s path from plan to implementation
Nakuru County* has integrated actions identified in its SEACAP into its five-year County Integrated Development Plan, annual development plans, departmental work plans and budgets. SEACAP targets and actions have also been institutionalised through Nakuru’s legislation and governance structures, including the County Climate Change Act, a dedicated Climate Change Unit and climate-planning committees working at both county and ward levels.
This has enabled the County to allocate and mobilise its own resources towards implementation, complemented by external support, including financing secured through Kenya’s Financing Locally-Led Climate Action (FLLoCA) programme. Through these broad implementation efforts, the County has advanced projects including ecosystem restoration, energy-efficiency measures and the installation of smart energy meters in county facilities. Hear more.
Nakuru’s experience demonstrates an important lesson: a SEACAP is most effective when it is not treated as a stand-alone document, but embedded within the local government's institutional, planning and financial systems. Political commitment remains essential, but it needs to be reinforced through dedicated teams, clearly assigned responsibilities and the integration of climate priorities into development plans, organisational structures and annual budgets. This institutionalisation can help sustain implementation through political and administrative transitions.
Kloto (Togo)’s path from plan to implementation
Capacity-building and technical assistance from CoM SSA partner, Expertise France, have helped translate planned actions into structured projects, including initiatives related to renewable energy, access to drinking water and flood protection. One example is an intermunicipal flood-resilience initiative that introduced early-warning measures, four meteorological stations and a parametric insurance mechanism. In 2025, the mechanism provided a USD 44 000 payout to support local flood-protection measures. Hear more.
Pikine (Senegal)’s path from plan to implementation
To move from plan to action, Pikine*** is ensuring that climate action extends beyond a single climate focal point and involves a broader municipal team, supported by regular coordination, continuous capacity strengthening and collaboration with national technical services. Hear more.
Pikine has also involved communities in the implementation of local climate and environmental priorities identified in its SEACAP. For example, Pikine is currently implementing the Programme for the Consolidation of Achievements in the Mbao Forest, which includes enrichment planting, establishing green firebreaks, supporting ecological and recreational landscape management, forest monitoring, and measures to address illegal logging. Community-prioritised projects can respond more directly to local needs while strengthening ownership, accountability and the long-term sustainability of interventions.
Turning priorities into finance-ready projects
Climate action needs finance, but different actions require different types of finance and support. CoM SSA supports signatories on their journey from planning to implementation through resources such as the climate finance course, available here, project-preparation support, targeted matchmaking and engagement with potential funders, financiers, technical partners, and where appropriate, private sector actors.
The CoM SSA Secretariat helps signatories navigate the wider climate-finance ecosystem and identify relevant sources of technical and project-preparation support. These can include facilities and organisations such as the City Climate Gap Fund, CiCLIA (Cities and Climate in Africa), and expertise through ICLEI Africa’s Sustainable Finance Centre.
Local governments can strengthen the prospects of their projects by developing clear project concepts, demonstrating expected climate, development and community benefits, aligning proposed actions with local and national priorities, and establishing credible implementation and monitoring arrangements.
There is no single financing pathway. Combining municipal resources with intergovernmental transfers and national programmes, grants and concessional finance, donor support and international climate-finance mechanisms can create a stronger financing base. For some projects, private-sector participation or risk-financing instruments may also be appropriate.
By progressively translating SEACAP priorities into concept notes, feasibility studies and structured opportunities for funding and implementation, local governments can build stronger project pipelines and improve their ability to access appropriate technical and financial support.
Regular monitoring and transparent reporting are equally important. They enable local governments to document results, adapt their approaches and demonstrate progress to residents, partners and potential funders. Platforms such as the CDP-ICLEI Track can support this process by helping local governments translate implementation experience into measurable evidence and report progress on their climate commitments.
The experiences of Nakuru, Kloto and Pikine show that implementation does not follow automatically from having a strong climate plan. It happens when climate priorities become part of how local governments govern, plan, budget, collaborate, invest and deliver.
Across sub-Saharan Africa, CoM SSA signatories are demonstrating different pathways from commitment to implementation. The next challenge is scale: strengthening the institutional capacity, project pipelines, partnerships and financing pathways that enable more SEACAP priorities to become tangible improvements in people’s lives.
Through continued peer learning, technical assistance, stronger multilevel governance and improved connections to appropriate finance, the CoM SSA initiative can support more local governments to make the transition, turning climate plans into locally led implementation that contributes to national climate priorities while building more resilient, inclusive communities, powered by clean energy, across sub-Saharan Africa.
*Nakuru County developed its SEACAP with support from CoM SSA partner, GIZ.
** Kloto developed its SEACAP with support from CoM SSA partner, Expertise France.
*** Pikine developed its SEACAP with support from CoM SSA partner, AECID.
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