Fifteen climate-vulnerable districts located in Battambang, Preah Vihear, and Pursat Provinces of Cambodia will receive adequate capacity and funding to better implement local climate resiliency plans, after the government secured USD 9.8 million for the Third Phase of Local Governments and Climate Change (LGCC-III).

The funding was approved during the 43rd Board Meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This also represents the first time Cambodia has accessed GCF financing through a direct accredited entity, underscoring its growing leadership in managing climate funds.

The LGCC initiative leverages local government capacity in fostering climate change resilience, highlighting the importance of grassroots initiatives and community mobilization in meeting national sustainability targets and climate priorities. With authority and power, local government institutions have the platform to integrate climate-related indicators and agenda into subnational planning and finance systems. 

LGCC-I was piloted in two districts and one municipality in Takeo Province, focusing on demonstrating the role of local governments in climate adaptation. Building on this, LGCC-II refined and scaled up the Performance-Based Climate Resilience Grant (PBCRG) mechanism across five districts in Battambang, demonstrating the viability of integrating climate finance into subnational planning and funding over 450 small-scale infrastructure projects, such as climate-resilient roads and irrigation systems, while simultaneously strengthening the capacity of the National Committee for Sub-National Democratic Development (NCDD-S) to successfully achieve accreditation as a GCF National Implementing Entity in 2019, paving the way for the direct GCF funding of LGCC-III.

The LGCC-III will address the challenges and maximize opportunities arising from the first and second phases of the project, maintaining its original intent of integrating climate adaptation investments into the planning and budgetary cycles of local and district government plans. 

Through the different phases, the project underscores the value of stakeholder engagement and community participation in developing project activities and benefiting from sub-project investments. Therefore, the third phase will perform thorough stakeholder consultation in crafting a climate resilience engagement plan, ensuring cultural appropriateness and gender inclusiveness. 

Phase three will commence with the review and assessment of the preceding phase implementations to reveal the opportunities and issues in the design mechanism, providing the basis for recommending improvements with institutional arrangements and financial sustainability. Additionally, the government will conduct a climate analysis and feasibility study across the project’s 15 target districts, guiding the development of interventions.