Local communities, particularly in the Global South, are already facing the most significant impacts of climate change. Nevertheless, they face asymmetries in access to financial opportunities and services for leading adaptation. A fraction of the climate finances reach local communities or are invested as per their needs. Bottom-up adaptation planning has been woefully weak despite decades of development experience in bottom-up planning. The session will discuss needed policy changes and how strengthened collaboration can enable public and private financing of local solutions.

The Government of Ecuador as host, together with Helvetas Swiss Intercooperation, Fundación Avina, Voices for Just Climate Action (VCA) alliance, the civil association TEMNYA21, and the regional project Andes Resilientes al Cambio Climático, came together to organize a side event within the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2021 framework – COP26 – to discuss how the financing of local solutions can better respond to the local needs.

Objectives

• Generate awareness of the global necessity to find better ways of financial resources reaching communities that are developing local climate adaptation solutions based on the needs and priorities. 
• The message will be developed to inform decision-makers in ways and means to promote access to climate finance at a local level, taking into account practitioner experiences and perspectives.