The role of climate finance for building community resilience: how to scale up locally led climate action

The session will shed light on evidence and approaches that support locally led efforts for climate action and will highlight innovative strategies and successful case studies of locally driven climate initiatives to create sustainable and adaptive solutions that not only mitigate climate risks but also enhance resilience of communities. 

To meet global and national ambitions on climate change and ensure inclusive and resilient economies, countries will need to adapt to and prepare for hazards, and reduce emissions, at all levels, including subnational level. However less than 17% percent of climate finance reaches the local level, and bottom-up approaches to climate action continue to be small-scale, with limited investments in systems that devolve financing, transfer resources, build capacity, and strengthen decision-making power at the subnational level. Investing in such approaches will help reduce vulnerabilities, build a path for community resilience, and catalysze low-carbon transitions.  

• Robin Mearns, Global Director for Social Sustainability and Inclusion, World Bank
• Adiba Bintey Kamal, Programme Coordinator, International Centre for Climate Change and Development (ICCCAD) 
• Representative from Green Climate Fund representative (TBC) presenting on the Enhanced Direct Access funding model

The session will be moderated by Katherine Browne, SEI Research Fellow and Lead for the International Climate Risk and Adaptation Team