President William Ruto has announced an ambitious plan to engage over 200,000 young Kenyans through the government’s Climate WorX Programme, positioning it as one of the largest youth-driven environmental initiatives in the country’s history.
Speaking after the induction of 25,000 new recruits into the programme, President Ruto said the expansion reflects the government’s dual commitment to youth empowerment and climate resilience. The initiative, which has already seen success in cleaning up the heavily polluted Nairobi River, is now scaling up to cover more areas with urgent environmental needs.
“We are now expanding its reach by deploying more youth to active and emerging Climate WorX sites, particularly in high-density informal settlements, riparian corridors, and flood-prone urban areas,” the President stated.
The programme aims to create green jobs for the youth while addressing critical environmental challenges across the country. In addition to river restoration and urban waste management, the new phase will include activities such as reforestation, drainage improvements, and climate-smart urban planning.
The government’s plan to engage over 200,000 youths signals a strategic shift toward community-centered climate action, with the youth at the forefront of implementation. The initiative also aligns with Kenya’s broader green growth strategy and the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which prioritizes job creation and sustainable development.
Analysts view the Climate WorX expansion as a win-win model, tackling both the unemployment crisis and the climate emergency in one stroke.
