Parallel Session 8.3: Subnational adaptation (UNCDF, KACCC)

Introduction

The negative impacts of climate change are disproportionately borne at the local level by the rural and urban poor in developing countries, where they exacerbate existing development challenges. Adaptation finance should be channelled to enhance the resilience and adaptive capacity of the countries and communities that are most vulnerable to climate change. Local communities and stakeholders have a key role to play in delivering adaptation results as they are uniquely positioned to know their vulnerabilities and needs, and because they have a stake in the outcome of any adaptation intervention and therefore, if appropriately empowered, the incentive to ensure that interventions are efficient, effective and impactful. However, according to some global studies, less than 10% of climate finance reaches the local level.

Several studies have explored the factors that can improve the effectiveness of adaptation finance in reducing vulnerability – including strengthening transparency and responsiveness of donor funding, strengthening ownership and participation of local communities, building the capacity of local stakeholders and of local financial structures to manage finance and deliver adaptation results, addressing issues of equity, in particular the gender dimension, and incentivizing the private sector to invest in adaptation. There is growing recognition of the need to channel climate finance to the local level.

The GCF, which has set an ambitious target to make 50% of its investments in adaptation, enables national and subnational institutions to access finance directly, building on a model piloted by the Adaptation Fund. This is a welcome development, but there is still significant progress to be made towards ensuring that climate finance responds to the needs of the most vulnerable.

Discussion topics

• Importance of devolving planning, decision making, and access to finance to local levels.
• What are the barriers to channeling adaptation finance to the local level?
• What approaches are being tested to ensure that adaptation finance responds to the needs of the most vulnerable, and what are some of the lessons learned to date?
• What are the barriers to engaging the private sector in delivering adaptation results at the local level? How could public funds be effectively deployed to address these barriers?

Draft agenda

Opening remarks – 10 Min

David Jackson, Director of the Local Development Finance, UNCDF – Moderator

• UNCDF (Judith Karl, Executive Secretary)
• Representative from the Ministry of Environment of South Korea (TBC)
• Representative from the UNFCCC Secretariat (TBC)

Setting the scene: Subnational adaptation – 30 mins

David Jackson, Director of the Local Development Finance, UNCDF – Moderator

1. UNCDF Presentation on the Financing adaptation at local level through PBCRG (Experience from LoCAL Programme in Asia, Pacific and Africa (Ms. Sophie De Coninck, UNCDF Programme Manager)
2. Subnational adaptation planning (Mr. Francisco Sabo, Government of Mozambique)
3. Local Governments and Climate Change Financing (H.E. Ngan Chamroeun, Government of Cambodia)
4. Guidelines on Financing Local Adaptation: experience from the Government of South Korea (Dr. Hoon Chang, Director, Korea Adaptation Center for Climate Change (KACCC), Korea Environment Institute)

Panel for discussion (World Café Format) – 45 mins

# key issues to discuss

1. Importance of devolving planning, decision making, and access to finance to local levels.
2. What are the barriers to channeling adaptation finance to the local level?
3. What approaches are being tested to ensure that adaptation finance responds to the needs of the most vulnerable, and what are some of the lessons learned to date?
4. What are the barriers to engaging the private sector in delivering adaptation results at the local level? How could public funds be effectively deployed to address these barriers?

# table hosts

David Jackson, Director of the Local Development Finance, UNCDF – Moderator

1. UNFCCC Secretariat (TBC)
2. GCF Country Programming (Pa Ousman Jarju, Director of GCF’s Country Programming Division)
3. Government of Cambodia (H.E. Nang Chamroon)
4. Government of Mozambique (Francisco Sabo)
5. Government of Ethiopia (TBC)
6. Global NAP network (representative from the NAP Global Network, IISD)