By Patricia Mbogo, Executive Director, ACCESS Coalition

In February this year, ACCESS Coalition-with support from  ENERGIA , Kenya Climate Change Working Group and Christian Aid Kenya-convened civil society organizations, government agencies, and development partners for a Post-COP29 Reflection Workshop. The aim? To figure out how the bold declarations made in Baku can take root in our national plans and county-level actions.

In her keynote, Hon. Teresia Mbaika, Principal Secretary for the State Department of Devolution, said it best: “We must move from reflection to implementation.” She also reminded us, “We must ensure that climate action reaches every village, every farm, and every household.” That quote has stayed with us. Because it captures the core of what this moment demands.

COP29 delivered some hopeful signals on climate finance, adaptation, carbon markets, and the importance of gender and youth inclusion. But let’s be honest: promises alone won’t cool the planet or protect our communities. We must act now to protect people and planet.

The case for urgent action could not be clearer. Africa accounts for less than 4% of global greenhouse gas emissions, yet it bears a disproportionate share of climate impacts. According to the African Development Bank, climate change is costing African countries between 2% and 9% of their GDP annually. In Kenya, over 80% of the population depends on climate-sensitive sectors such as agriculture, yet prolonged droughts have left over 4 million people facing acute food insecurity. Meanwhile, less than 3% of global climate finance flows to Sub-Saharan Africa, and only a fraction of that reaches the local level.

High-emitting countries and development partners have a moral and historical obligation to act-by scaling up climate finance, investing in locally-led solutions, and holding themselves accountable for delivering on their COP29 commitments.

ACCESS Coalition’s work focuses on the people often left out of these conversations.ACCESS Coalition engages in advocacy with decision and policy makers and key stakeholders on accelerating inclusive SDG 7 implementation and just energy transition at the national level in target countries, at regional level and through international advocacy with development partners and MDBs particularly AfDB and World Bank as significant financier of energy in the Global South targeting access deficit regions.

Insufficient energy finance continues to flow to and within Sub-Saharan Africa-particularly to solutions that can deliver access for over 700 million people living in energy poverty, such as decentralised renewable energy (DRE) and clean cooking, including e-cooking. A key challenge is that energy service and transition planning remains largely top-down, technology-focused, and disconnected from the needs of energy-poor populations and local contexts. Many energy-deficit countries also lack clear strategies and enabling policies. Underpinning these challenges is limited recognition of energy as a driver of local, climate-resilient development, alongside weak political will to address the multidimensional nature of energy poverty. This is compounded by the exclusion—or minimal influence—of energy-poor communities and civil society organisations in decision-making processes.

The impact is far reaching on health environment, economic and social.  We’re talking about women cooking over smoky fires resulting to premature deaths and respiratory illnesses, smallholder farmers facing failed rains, youth demanding jobs in clean energy, and communities navigating floods and droughts. For them, climate justice is not an abstract concept-it’s about dignity, health, and survival.

That’s why we believe that climate finance must work differently. It must be simpler, faster, and directed where it’s needed most. Local organizations and community initiatives deserve more than a seat at the table-they deserve resources and trust. We urge our governments and international partners to unlock direct access to funds, shine a light on where the money goes, and center gender equality and social inclusion solutions especially those targeting women and locally-led solutions.

Adaptation can’t stay in strategy documents. It must reach the people. This means co-designing indicators with counties, tracking results transparently, and ensuring that climate action doesn’t end in boardrooms. The same goes for gender and youth inclusion-real leadership must go beyond conference panels and include decision-making, budgeting, and implementation.

Energy transition? It must be just. Let’s aim higher. Let’s talk clean cooking, decentralized renewable energy solutions including leapfrogging electric cooking in ongoing electrification programs, and turning climate ambition into job creation-especially for women and young people.

So what do we do now? We organize, We monitor and  report. Civil society must speak in one voice-firm, informed, and grounded in community reality. We advocate for  accountability from our leaders, coherence across policies, and ambition from our development partners and all key stakeholders.

To our allies: support movements, not just projects. Build capacity for sustainability, not just outcomes. To policymakers: open the doors wider. To our members and partners that aligns to our mission, let’s keep showing up-for justice, for equity, and for a future that belongs to all of us.

COP30 is coming fast. Let it not be another global gathering of good intentions. Let it be the moment we shift gears-from reflection to real action.