From pledges to people: Directing climate finance to local solutions

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OPINION

By Blaise Shem Twinomujuni

Uganda, like much of sub-Saharan Africa, is living through the harsh realities of climate change. Scientific evidence confirms that global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are rising due to human activities such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and unsustainable agriculture.

These emissions are the main drivers of global warming and extreme weather. Yet the people who depend on climate-sensitive livelihoods like smallholder farmers, charcoal burners, brick makers, and fisherfolk are also bearing the greatest burden.

The National State of the Environment Report 2024, released by the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA), shows that several districts are now facing severe climate shocks with unpredictable rains, hailstorms, prolonged dry spells, droughts, and water shortages.

Recent mudslides in Bulambuli and Bududa, and floods in Kasese, are stark reminders of how quickly disasters can strike vulnerable communities. These events disrupt livelihoods, displace families, and leave households staring at empty granaries. Such occurrences are no longer isolated shocks but recurring crises that demand urgent and practical interventions for the people most affected.

Uganda has recognised these threats in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), updated in 2022. The country committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 24.7% below business-as-usual levels by 2030, an increase over its earlier target of 22%. Most of the mitigation (about 82.7%) is expected to come from Agriculture, Forestry, and Other Land Use.

Despite these commitments, a significant gap remains in access to climate finance at the grassroots. Large, complex projects dominate the funding landscape, but little of that capital reaches local innovators. Local Governments, farmer groups, and Community-Based Organisations (CBOs) remain sidelined, despite their deep knowledge of local challenges and solutions. This is the “missing link” in Uganda’s climate response.

Grassroots actors are not short of ideas. Communities in the Mount Elgon region are practising terracing and tree planting to prevent landslides. Smallholder farmers in the North are adopting drought-resistant seeds, water harvesting, and solar dryers, reducing post-harvest losses. Youth and women entrepreneurs are producing briquettes, eco-bricks, and paving blocks from recycled plastic. These solutions show that Uganda’s communities are not merely passive victims; they can lead both adaptation and mitigation. Yet these initiatives remain underfunded and poorly scaled, leaving communities to shoulder the climate burden.

Unlocking climate finance for grassroots solutions requires deliberate action. Policymakers must prioritise mechanisms that decentralise resources directly to local communities. Climate funds should be channelled through SACCOs, VSLAs, and farmer cooperatives already embedded in local settings. These institutions can provide “green microfinances” for affordable items like solar kits, clean cookstoves, water harvesting tanks, and climate-smart seeds.

Partnerships between Local Governments, Development Finance Institutions, Civil Society, Academia, and the Private Sector can further provide technical capacity, monitoring, and scaling of local best practices. Such shifts would empower grassroots climate ambassadors such as farmers, women, and youth innovators, who can replicate successful models nationwide.

Uganda’s fight against climate change will be won or lost at the grassroots. By decentralizing climate finance, scaling local solutions, and supporting both adaptation and mitigation, the country can move from survival to proactive climate leadership. Addressing this missing link is the only way to ensure that no Ugandan community is left behind in the face of a changing climate.

The writer is a student of Master of Business & Administration of Makerere University Business School