New York/ Geneva, 11 May 2021

The Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility welcomes Guinea as the 28th country to begin designing their climate adaptation activities using the mechanism, ahead of today’s annual LoCAL Board Meeting. LoCAL is owned by the developing and Least Developed Countries that implement the mechanism and has mobilised over US$100M for climate adaptation action to date. All countries implementing LoCAL plus donors and key observers are today scheduled to meet online due to COVID restrictions to agree shared priorities for the year ahead at the LoCAL Board Meeting. Earlier this year, UNCDF which hosts LoCAL, committed to doubling the size of the initiative to meet growing demand from countries.

Photos above - Front: a farmer irrigating her field (photo: A. Rodgers) / Back: bringing vegetables to the market in Guinea (photo from Dreamstime Stock Images).

I am very pleased to welcome Guinea to the LoCAL community, which delivers locally led adaptation at scale in developing and Least Developed Countries,” said UNCDF Executive Secretary Preeti Sinha, who will be attending the LoCAL Board meeting.

“LoCAL channels much needed climate finance to the local level and UNCDF is committed to growing this facility to meet demand from participating countries.”

Preeti Sinha, UNCDF Executive Secretary

Launched in Bhutan and Cambodia in 2011, LoCAL is today internationally recognised with countries in Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean implementing or designing their LoCAL adaptation mechanisms. The impacts of climate change are not being felt equally and many of the world’s least developed nations are being hit hardest by global warming, changing weather patterns and extreme climate-related disasters. Global efforts to keep temperatures from rising by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius look increasingly unlikely to be successful, amplifying the need for urgent and concerted adaptation action ahead of this year’s crucial COP26 summit in Glasgow, UK.

Ministers from six participating countries are LoCAL Ambassadors and support LoCAL as a scalable solution for channelling climate finance to the local level using local government authorities to deliver results and positively impact the lives of their citizens. To date LoCAL has worked with 304 local governments improving community resilience and benefitting some 11.5 million people.

Farmer in Guinea - Photo: A.Rodgers

Being an ambassador for LoCAL, my ambition is to mobilize international partnerships to support this mechanism," said Ivete Maibase, the Minister of Land and Environment in Mozambique and a LoCAL Ambassador alongside ministers from Cambodia, Benin, The Gambia, Malawi and Niger. "It is a sustainable mechanism, directed to the communities with a direct impact on the lives of Mozambican families."

Ms Ivete Maibase, Minister of Land and Environment Mozambique

LoCAL has mobilised in the region of US$ 107M for locally led adaptation, but this is only a small fraction of the sum needed. Only 19% climate finance goes towards adaptation, according to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC. Only a small fraction of these funds go to LDCs, with even less reaching the local level in those countries.

The LoCAL Facility is primarily funded by the European Union which has provided over US$ 40M and EU Member States, most notably Sweden which has contributed an additional US$ 30M+. Earlier this year, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation signed a funding agreement for Mozambique with the African Development Bank following suit with a further grant approved last month.

LoCAL participating countries are: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cote d’Ivoire, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mozambique, Niger, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Sudan, Tanzania 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.

UN Capital Development Fund, UNCDF: The UN Capital Development Fund makes public and private finance work for the poor in the world’s 46 least developed countries (LDCs). UNCDF offers “last mile” finance models that unlock public and private resources, especially at the domestic level, to reduce poverty and support local economic development. UNCDF pursues innovative financing solutions through: (1) financial inclusion, which expands the opportunities for individuals, households, and small and medium-sized enterprises to participate in the local economy, while also providing differentiated products for women and men so they can climb out of poverty and manage their financial lives; (2) local development finance, which shows how fiscal decentralization, innovative municipal finance, and structured project finance can drive public and private funding that underpins local economic expansion, women’s economic empowerment, climate adaptation, and sustainable development; and (3) a least developed countries investment platform that deploys a tailored set of financial instruments to a growing pipeline of impactful projects in the "missing middle."

For more information about LoCAL, read our 2021 brochure online or download the 2021 brochure.

For press queries: Sarah Harris, Communication Officer / Sarah.harris.simpson@uncdf.org +33 7 88 48 78 43