Kathmandu, Nepal — Representatives from GCoM South Asia signatories in India, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and Bangladesh will gather on December 5-7, to further increase knowledge and awareness, as well as receive hands-on training, on how to access climate financing opportunities alongside EU delegations and businesses, the All India Institute of Local Self-Government (AIILSG), the Municipal Association of Nepal (MuAN), ICLEI South Asia, Climate Centre for Cities (C-Cube) at NIUA, and other technical partners. This regional workshop is a continuation of the previous climate financing workshop held in Mumbai, India, in May 2023, and is designed to provide signatories greater tools and strategies to engage with EU businesses and organisations from key priority sectors on significant climate finance and funding mechanisms.
Alongside EU and Asian technical partners, cities will learn to draft and devise comprehensive and robust financing applications, known as Expressions of Interest, for their project proposals, which will be used to discuss various collaboration opportunities with businesses from the EU. As part of this regional workshop, 1-on-1 business matchmaking sessions between cities and EU businesses have been arranged to provide support for the successful implementation of cities’ urban climate mitigation and adaptation projects. Additionally, other GCoM signatories from Southeast Asia and Japan will share their own experiences in developing mitigation and adaptation strategies in order to foster deeper conversations between cities about capacity building and best practices around climate financing.
The workshop will take place at The Soaltee in Kathmandu, and will culminate in a half-day 1-on-1 business matchmaking session between cities and approximately 10 EU businesses to discuss potential opportunities for collaboration.