A new standard issued by the International Standard Organization, ISO 14093, and launched at COP27, is based on the Local Climate Adaptive Living Facility and offers an internationally recognized country-based mechanism to increase local government access to climate finance for adaptation. The ISO cements LoCAL’s position as an internationally recognized and standardized approach to climate finance delivery for action and results at the local level.

Representatives from ISO and the UN Capital Development Fund, which designed and hosts the LoCAL Facility, launched ISO 14093: “Mechanism for financing local adaptation to climate change — Performance based climate resilience grants — Requirements and guidelines” at the Khufu auditorium, COP27.

“By aligning with the standard, partners will be able to help countries apply climate finance efficiently in their countries and deliver adaptation results to the maximum number of communities with the resources at their disposal,” said Sophie De Coninck, LoCAL Global Facility Manager, UN Capital Development Fund. “We also expect ISO 14093 will help countries access climate finance more easily, as the standard will ensure quality across operations and at all levels of implementation.”

The International Standard Organization develops and publishes international standards to answer a simple question: ‘What is the best way of doing this?’. The LoCAL Facility provides a country-owned mechanism for channeling climate finance to local government authorities for locally led adaptation and is presently being implemented or designed for implementation in 34 countries across Africa, Asia, the Caribbean and Pacific.

Organizations interested in using the standard can find it on the ISO website and contact UNCDF for more information and set up a schedule for an assessment to verify that the standard has been correctly applied.

ISO 14093 is aimed at organizations involved in implementing a country-based mechanism for channeling climate finance to local government. These may include national and sub-national authorities, donors, companies, financial institutions and international organizations.

Application of the ISO standard contributes, through the sub-national level, to the achievement of the Paris Agreement and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. More information can be found in the attached documentation here.

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