Asia and the Pacific is one of the world’s most vulnerable regions to the effects of climate change and the expected impacts are likely to intensify in the future. The region is also a large emitter of greenhouse gases (GHGs), and unless urgent action is taken to curb emissions, this trend will exacerbate in the future. It is widely acknowledged that a significant increase in public and private financial resources from national and international sources will be required to meet these adaptation and mitigation challenges.

The objective of this report is to better understand the significance of local governance and decentralization in the delivery of climate finance, and to strengthen its coherence, responsiveness, and effectiveness. In order to do this, the report reviews:

i) How decentralization and local governance processes influence the delivery of climate finance,

ii) How climate change finance is currently being channeled from central government to the local level,

iii) How local actors can effectively respond to climate change through improved planning and budgeting and

iv) How the impact of those expenditures can be monitored and evaluated to track its effectiveness.

The report presents a regional picture, supported by specific examples from several countries across the region, of the most relevant trends, challenges and opportunities in relation to financing localized responses to climate change.

This report is a joint product of the United Nations Development Programme Asia-Pacific Regional Centre (UNDP APRC), the United Nations Environment Programme Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific (UNEP ROAP), and the United Nations Capital Development Fund (UNCDF).