Regional Insights for Advancing Climate Finance Readiness and Frameworks for Local Action

The event is being organized by ESCAP, in collaboration with GIZ, UCLG ASPAC, and National Government Agencies of China, India, Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines under the framework of Urban-Act project which is funded by German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMUKN) under the International Climate Initiative (IKI). The event supports the Urban-Act project’s broader efforts to support cities in strengthening institutional frameworks, enhancing capacities and fostering multi-level governance to unlock climate finance and accelerate sustainable and climate-resilient urban development. This side event will serve as a platform to connect policy makers and cities with climate finance institutions and will facilitate direct dialogue between policy makers, cities and financing partners, with the aim to improve readiness for climate finance by identifying financing pathways and strengthening project designs. The session will open with an exchange among experts on finance readiness and potential pathways for local climate action in multi-level governance systems. This will be followed by brief presentations and success stories from cities and partners on the different tools developed under the framework of Urban-Act project which may facilitate the readiness, improve potential financial pathways and strengthen the project design to improve bankability of the projects. The event will further contribute to sustained peer learning and knowledge exchange on urban climate action and finance by emphasizing decentralization, as well as whole-of-government and whole-of-society approaches to enabling climate-resilient urban investments. The Urban-Act project aims in reinforcing institutional arrangements, building subnational capacity and improving coordination across levels of government to mobilize climate finance and advance sustainable and climate-resilient urban development. As a focussed activity, under the framework of the project, the key objectives of this event are to: - Strengthen understanding of city climate finance readiness, with a focus on governance, institutional frameworks, and project bankability. - Facilitate dialogue between cities, governments, and climate finance institutions on financing pathways for local climate action - Showcase Urban-Act tools and city experiences to promote peer learning and improve access to climate finance.