The agreement aims to improve cooperation and avoid duplication across climate-related programmes and activities underway in Malawi, Nepal and Liberia. By streamlining and consolidating efforts, the agreement expects countries to be able to deliver faster and better on their NDCs, the national climate-action plans made by each country towards achieving the targets enshrined in the Paris Agreement.

At COP26 last month climate vulnerable nations called for accelerated action on national commitments to tackle climate change, resulting in an agreement to revise NDCs on an annual basis. This new agreement is timely as countries prepare to shift from a five-year review of commitments to annual NDC revisions at next year’s COP27 in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt.

"The signing of this new cooperation agreement comes at a really important time for countries like Liberia, Malawi and Nepal, which are all developing or least developed nations that face devastating impacts of climate change," said David Jackson, Director, Local Transformative Finance at UNCDF and the principle designer of the LoCAL Facility.

“We’re really pleased to be renewing our cooperation with the NDC Partnership to support implementation and coordination of NDC plans which require funds and technical abilities that are in limited supply in many of these countries.”

LoCAL is an internationally recognised mechanism for channelling climate finance to the local level, operating through country systems across Africa, Asia, the Pacific and Caribbean. Some 27 of the world’s most climate-impacted countries are implementing or designing their LoCAL actions, working through local government authorities. Over 11.5 million people have benefitted from LoCAL adaptation actions with the potential to reach 500 million people with nation-wide implementation in existing LoCAL countries. To date, LoCAL has mobilised over US$ 125 million for locally led adaptation.

The NDC Partnership brings together members’ resources and expertise to provide countries with the tools they need to implement their NDCs and combat climate change; LoCAL has been a member since 2019. LoCAL also works with the NDC Partnership in Niger, fast-tracking the Sahelian country’s NDC implementation; in Sao Tome and Principe, where NDC Partnership funds are financing a climate risk assessment and in Peru to design a funding guarantee scheme that encourages the private sector to become involved in adaptation and mitigation measures in the country.