National Platforms for Adaptation & Resilience (Part 2)
Welcome to the second instalment of Cadlas’ new insight blog series, Resilience Unpacked, where we explore key topics in climate resilience financing. In this edition, we focus on National Platforms for Adaptation and Resilience Investment.
National platforms or country platforms for climate action are country-led partnerships that align financing, coordinate stakeholders and connect national climate policies with financeable projects. They enhance collaboration, streamline funding and maximise climate impact by bridging the gap high-level national adaptation plans and financeable investments.
As demand for adaptation finance grows globally, national platforms are increasingly identified as important mechanisms for mobilising investment in climate adaptation and resilience initiatives. Strengthening and expanding these platforms will be key to transforming national climate policy ambitions into investable projects and unlocking the full potential of climate resilience investments for a more resilient future.
In Part 1 of our Resilience Unpacked series on national platforms, we explored exactly what they are and how they function. Now, we’ll take a closer look at their structure, organisation and the key stakeholders driving their work. Click here to read part 1 of this series
Structure of National Platforms for Adaptation & Resilience
As explored in Part 1, national platforms for climate action integrate climate considerations into investment pipelines by embedding them into strategy, operations and decision-making processes.
While there is no universal model, these platforms typically achieve their objectives by consolidating national climate priorities, supporting project preparation and capacity building, enhancing project pipeline management and mobilising innovative financial instruments.
A defining characteristic of national platforms is that they are country-driven, meaning their structure varies based on national context. Despite differences in governance and institutional setup, these platforms generally engage a diverse set of stakeholders, including government entities, the private sector, civil society (including academia), and, in many cases, international organisations.
Stakeholder Roles in National Platforms
Stakeholders within national platforms work together to set the platform’s strategic direction, align investments with national adaptation priorities, mobilise funding, and develop investable adaptation project pipelines.
They also build institutional capacity, manage risks, coordinate community engagement to ensure local adaptation needs are met, and streamline funding between national governments and international financial institutions. These stakeholders generally fall into two main categories: leading and supporting stakeholders.
Leading Stakeholders
- Leading stakeholders play a key role in integrating national adaptation priorities into investment planning and financial supervision.
Supporting Stakeholders
- Supporting stakeholders help incorporate adaptation into sectoral investment planning and align community-level adaptation goals with national priorities.
- Depending on the institutional context, there may be other supporting stakeholders which contribute by managing risk and data, aligning projects with finance priorities, coordinating international funding, providing climate risk modelling, and promoting equity in adaptation efforts.
National Platforms in Action: Examples from Around the World
While national platforms have been widely used to support climate mitigation efforts, not many examples exist of their application in scaling up finance specifically for adaptation and resilience. However, international support for adaptation-focused national platforms is growing, with a consortium of MDBs publishing guiding principles for their development and implementation.
Key initiatives driving this momentum include the:
- Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Climate Adaptation Investment Planning (CAIP) , which helps ADB partner countries translate national adaptation priorities into robust investment programmes by leveraging existing structures and strategies.
- International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF ), which provides long-term financing to help countries strengthen economic resilience to climate risks.
As mentioned previously, the structure of a national platform varies based on country-specific needs and governance models. The following examples illustrate these differences, showcasing distinct stakeholder roles and levels of involvement.
The Netherlands Sustainable Finance Platform
Chaired by the De Nederlandsche Bank (DNB), the Netherlands’ Sustainable Finance Platform (SFP) is a great example of a financial sector driven national platform. The SFP brings together stakeholders across the financial sector including asset managers, the Dutch Banking Association, insurers and pension funds to work with government ministries to promote sustainability in the Netherlands through its financial sector.
A core feature of this platform is its working groups, which shape the platform’s thematic focus. Importantly, the SFP features an Adaptation Working Group which examines how the financial sector can support economic adaptation to climate change in four key sectors: built environment, agriculture, industry and transport. The group assesses scenarios, methods, and data required for financial institutions to evaluate climate risks and adaptation needs. While its outcomes are non-binding, its recommendations play an important role in strengthening collaboration between financial institutions, the government, and other stakeholders, ensuring that adaptation challenges are linked to financial sector actions.
The Bangladesh Climate and Development Platform
Bangladesh is among the most climate-vulnerable nations, making climate adaptation finance an urgent priority. Launched in 2023, the Bangladesh Climate and Development Platform (BCDP) is a government-led initiative established in collaboration with international financial institutions, bilateral donors, and the private sector. While not exclusively focused on adaptation and resilience, the platform aims to generate a robust pipeline of climate projects and financing strategies.
Building upon financing from long-term international development financing partners and an arrangement with the IMF’s Resilience and Sustainability Facility, the BCDP aims to improve the integration of climate risks into fiscal planning, enhance climate-sensitive public investment management and strengthen climate-related risk management for financial institutions. Under the BCDP, a project preparation facility will also be established to enhance project bankability, making climate projects more scalable and attractive to private investment.
The Way Forward for National Platforms for Adaptation & Resilience
By streamlining stakeholder collaboration, national platforms have become important mechanisms for mobilising finance for adaptation & resilience. The examples of the Netherlands and Bangladesh highlight how platforms can be tailored to meet country-specific needs to build resilience to the growing challenges of climate change.
As the demand for adaptation finance continues to rise, the success of these platforms will depend on strong, inclusive partnerships and a clear focus on locally led solutions.
This concludes our Resilience Unpacked series on National Platforms for Adaptation & Resilience. Thank you for joining us on this deep dive into national platforms and stay tuned for more from the Resilience Unpacked blogs series!
National Platforms for Adaptation & Resilience (Part 1)
Welcome to the first instalment of Cadlas’ new insight blog series, Resilience Unpacked, where we explore key topics in climate resilience financing. In this edition, we focus on National Platforms for Adaptation and Resilience Investment.
We’ll explore how these platforms can serve as crucial mechanisms for financing climate adaptation and resilience initiatives. Specifically, we’ll define what they are and examine how they function, while highlighting the key role they can play in mobilising finance for adaptation and resilience.
What Are National Platforms and Why Do They Matter for Adaptation & Resilience?
National Platforms for climate action, or more commonly called country platforms, are government-led partnerships that bring together multiple stakeholders including the private sector and development finance partners to coordinate efforts, align financing and support national priorities. They act as investment coordination hubs, connecting national climate policies with financeable projects by fostering collaboration, streamlining funding and enhancing the impact of climate-focused development initiatives.
Mobilising Finance for Adaptation & Resilience
Regarded as key coordination mechanisms, national platforms have begun to play an increasingly vital role in advancing national climate goals. Their significance was underscored in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s (UNFCCC) 2023 Global Stocktake, where they were highlighted as instrumental in facilitating the implementation of the third round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). But how do they relate to adaptation and resilience?
While many of these platforms focus primarily on climate mitigation, such as the International Partners Group (IPG) supported Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), national platforms also have the potential to play a crucial role in scaling up and mobilising finance for adaptation and resilience. They can offer focus and ownership over national and local adaptation priorities and coordinate investment efforts by bridging the gap between high-level adaptation strategies, like National Adaptation Plans (NAPs), and financeable investments.
The diagram below illustrates how national platforms can utilise country-level strategies to align financial flows with adaptation needs:
Mainstreaming Adaptation & Resilience Across the Investment Pipeline
National platforms mainstream adaptation and resilience considerations across the investment pipeline by integrating it into their strategy, operations, and decision-making processes. They achieve this via three key functions: Strategic Planning & Policy Integration, Investment Structuring & Financial Alignment, and Enabling Environments & Capacity Building.
The diagram below illustrates how national platforms function by integrating and mainstreaming adaptation and resilience considerations across the investment pipeline:
Strategic Planning & Policy Integration
National platforms play a vital role in turning national adaptation policies into investable plans and mobilising the necessary domestic and international resources. They create opportunities for government bodies, such as finance ministries, to collaborate with key stakeholders, ensuring adaptation and resilience are embedded into public investment programmes. By translating physical climate risks into investment priorities, they help develop pipelines that align with the risk-return expectations of financiers, making adaptation a more attractive and viable investment.
Investment Structuring & Financial Alignment
National platforms support the structuring of investment programmes that blend public, private and concessional finance to crowd-in commercial capital and ensure that investments meet investor requirements. They also help capture and monetise the full range of adaptation benefits including avoided losses, enhanced resilience and broader sustainable development benefits, strengthening the business case for investment. They also facilitate the integration of adaptation and resilience metrics into investment appraisal frameworks, ensuring that projects can be matched with the right financial instruments and capital types, making it easier to mainstream adaptation into investment decisions.
Enabling Environment & Capacity Building
Beyond finance, national platforms help establish the necessary, enabling environment for adaptation investment through facilitating technical assistance, promoting the development of metrics/standards and promoting the integration of adaptation and resilience into financial supervision. They also play a key role in supporting project preparation, building institutional capacity and fostering knowledge sharing across the financial sector.
Looking Ahead – Strengthening National Platforms for Climate-Resilient Growth
In conclusion, national platforms have the potential to be powerful drivers of adaptation and resilience finance, turning policy ambitions into investable projects.
By integrating adaptation and resilience considerations across the investment pipeline, they foster collaboration, align financial flows and embed adaptation and resilience into national investment decision-making. As the need for adaptation finance continues to rise, strengthening and expanding these platforms will be key to unlocking the full potential of climate resilience investments and building a more climate-resilient future.
To scale climate adaptation finance, national platforms must:
- Expand beyond being primarily mitigation-focused and fully integrate adaptation & resilience
- Align financial flows with adaptation goals for long-term climate security
- Strengthen cross-sector collaboration to foster holistic adaptation strategies
By providing a holistic overview of key stakeholders’ inputs and country needs, national platforms help direct financial flows and facilitate partnerships.
In part 2 of this Resilience Unpacked series on National Platforms, we’ll dive deeper into how National Platforms are structured and organised, and the various kinds of stakeholders that are involved. Stay tuned!