Kenya has been ranked at position 59 globally in the new 2019 Change Readiness Index (CRI) report.
In Africa, it takes the third position after Mauritius which tops in the continent and takes position 34 globally and Namibia which is second and ranked 43 globally.
The report by global audit firm, KPMG establishes the ability of a country’s main sectors to capitalise on current greatest challenges, including climate change.
It looks at indices such as the ability of private and state-owned organisations to grow within a dynamic economic environment and government and public regulatory institutions to manage and influence change.
It also factors in the ability of individual citizens and wider society to cope with change and respond to opportunities.
The rankings are aimed at influencing creation of an enabling policy and regulatory environment driven by government.
This is hoped will unlock the investment and innovation needed to build sustainable infrastructure.
The study covered 140 countries with Switzerland taking the top position while Somalia was ranked last.
Kenya, among other African countries underperformed against the global average in the government environmental sustainability indicator.
"The cost of adapting to climate change in developing countries could rise to between $280–$500 billion per year by 2050 five times greater than previous estimates," says the report.
The index showed that low and lower-middle income countries were the most susceptible to climate risks and least resilient.
"These high risk and low readiness countries can improve by developing their financial sector, which is an important safeguard for disaster affected populations that need access to income transfers from governments, remittances and household savings," it stated.
