The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility, LoCAL has mobilised US $100 million for locally led climate change adaptation action, already benefitting more than 11 million people in some of the world’s most vulnerable countries. News of the landmark achievement came with a commitment to at least double the size of the facility within five years to meet the growing demand from countries.

Hosted by the UN Capital Development Fund, LoCAL is owned by the countries that sign up to implement the mechanism, primarily Least Developed Countries and increasingly Small Island Developing States. Launched in 2011, today 26 participating countries are engaged in Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Pacific and thousands of communities are designing adaptation projects to be funded with LoCAL grants.

In the coming five years, led by our ambassador countries and other LoCAL member states, LoCAL is committed to doubling the size of this initiative,” said David Jackson, Director, Local Development Finance at UNCDF. “We urge all donors and stakeholders supporting climate change adaptation to join us in prioritising locally led adaptation, leveraging LoCAL.”

The impacts of climate change are not being felt equally, with many of the world’s least developed nations being hit hardest by global warming and associated changing weather patterns and extreme climate-related events. Global efforts to keep temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees celsius look increasingly unlikely to be successful, amplifying the need for concerted adaptation action. LoCAL is a flexible and effective instrument that delivers sustainable results by channelling resources and boosting capacity at the local level.

Ministers from five countries, including The Gambia, have agreed to become LoCAL Ambassadors and share their experience of LoCAL. Another LoCAL Ambassador country is Mozambique, recently ravaged by two deadly cyclones.

I chose to be an ambassador for LoCAL, considering not only the vulnerability of the impact of climate change that Mozambique has cyclically suffered, but particularly with relation to the results LoCAL achieved,” said Ivete Maibase, the Minister of Land and Environment in Mozambique and a LoCAL Ambassador. “LoCAL is a sustainable mechanism, directed to the communities with a direct impact on the lives of Mozambican families.”

The LoCAL Facility is primarily funded by the European Union and EU Member States, notably Sweden.

“We are committed to welcome and accompany all countries that express interest in benefitting from the mechanism and work closely with them to access and effectively channel the resources needed at the local level, meeting or exceeding the target to double the size of the facility over the next five years," said Ms De Coninck.

One specificity of LoCAL is its systemic approach and its proven scalability. First launched in Bhutan and Cambodia in 2011, the mechanism is now being rolled out at the national level. The LoCAL publication ‘Financing local adaptation to climate change’ is recognised by the LDC Expert Group as annex to the National Adaptation Plan technical guidelines of the UNFCCC.

With LoCAL support, a number of national bodies in participating countries have been accepted as accredited entities, enabling them to directly access climate change funds from the Green Climate Fund. Such accreditation is a vital means of boosting access to climate change resources.

LoCAL participating countries are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sudan and Uganda in Africa. Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Nepal and Pakistan in Asia. Fiji, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu and Vanuatu, in the Pacific and Jamaica in the Caribbean.

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The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility is co-hosting the event Locally Led Adaptation at the Climate Adaptation Summit at 09.00 -11.00 CET on 26 January. The event is part of two days of online discussion, debate and information sharing convened by the Netherlands. Climate change is happening, and the world needs workable solutions for adaptation.

Sign up to the event here: https://www.cas2021.com/

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