A RegionsAdapt Community of Practice

An online event open to Regions4 and RegionsAdapt members.

This Community of Practice session, co-organized by RegionsAdapt with the support of the Government of Quebec, aims to foster a peer-learning space where subnational governments and other key international partners can share experiences, explore challenges, and identify opportunities for financing climate adaptation at the subnational level.  

Regional governments play a vital role in translating climate adaptation strategies into concrete actions that protect communities, ecosystems, and economies. While important progress has been made, a central part of the ongoing adaptation challenge is finance. Mobilising resources for adaptation is complex, as investments often generate long-term, systemic benefits that are not easily captured by traditional financing models. At the same time, regional governments face barriers in accessing funding, developing investment-ready projects, and aligning with national and international financing frameworks.

This RegionsAdapt Community of Practice session will explore how regional governments can strengthen their capacity to finance climate adaptation. The discussion will build on insights from the RegionsAdapt Finance Report 2025, which examines the main barriers regions face in accessing adaptation finance and identifies emerging opportunities for mobilising investment in resilience, as well as bring together leading experts to share practical recommendations, tools, and “how-to” guidance, followed by regional responses and discussion. 

Time and date: Tuesday 28^th of April | 16:00 – 17:30 CET | Check your local time here.

Translation: Translation will be provided to Spanish, English and French, with portuguese subtitles.

Online Access Link: This event is exclusive to members. For access details, please contact regionsadapt@regions4.org.

AGENDA

16:00 : Opening and welcome (5min)

Part 1 – Mobilising finance for subnational adaptation

16:05 : Insights from RegionsAdapt Progress Report 2025 (10min)

Key insights from the RegionsAdapt Progress Report 2025, looking at main challenges to accessing and structuring finance and overview of available funding sources and trends

• Regions4: Mélisa Cran, RegionsAdapt Manager 

16:15 : Regional spotlight: Mobilising resources for adaptation: Key lessons and enabling conditions (25 min)

Experiences from regions on financing adaptation through internal mechanisms and key lessons and enabling conditions

• Québec (Canada): Philippe Grégoire, Climate Change Advisor,International Partnerships, Carbon Market Directorate
• Catalonia (Spain): Maria José Sarrias, Director of the Catalan Office for Climate Change
• Île-de-France (France): Daniel Richard, Climate Change Adaptation Officer

Part 2 – From barriers to bankable projects

16:40 : Expert insights: Making adaptation projects investable (10 min + 5min Q&A)

Practical guidance on project bankability; Understanding investor expectations; Common pitfalls and how to address them; Tools and approaches to strengthen project design

• Sustainable Finance Observatory: Emilie Maehara, Deputy Executive Director

16:55 : Regional perspectives: Fom readiness to investment (25 min)

• Lombardy (Italy): Maria Chiara Merlo, Administrative officer – Strategic Planning and External Relations Department – Region of Lombardy 

• São Paulo (Brazil): André Previato, Special Advisor to the Cabinet, Government of the State of São Paulo

Discussion with members and experts

17:20 : Key takeaways, applicability to regions, and support needs

17:30 : Closing remarks