This event is part of SEI’s engagement at COP31.
Find out more about our participation and other events on the SEI at COP31.
Adaptation finance often falls short not because capital is unavailable, but because locally led solutions lack the support and structure needed to become investable. This COP31 side event, co-organized by Shushilan, Bhutan Ecological Society (BES), and Local Initiatives for Biodiversity, Research and Development (LI-BIRD), will explore how to bridge that “missing middle” and build a stronger pipeline of private finance for adaptation.
Speakers will trace the path from promising local initiatives to investment-ready opportunities: strengthening business models, bringing projects together to reach scale, documenting the value of avoided losses, and matching solutions with suitable financial instruments and investors. The discussion will draw on regional experience and examine the roles of financial service providers, public funders, and policymakers.
The event will also consider who benefits from adaptation finance and on what terms. With gender equality and social inclusion integrated throughout the discussion, participants will explore how finance can better serve women and other marginalized groups without shifting risk onto the communities it is meant to support.
Join us to discuss practical ways to move viable adaptation solutions toward investment—and the changes public actors, investors, and financial institutions can make to help that happen.
Image: SEI Asia
13:15–13:20 | Opening
Welcome and why this matters now
13:20–13:30 | Diagnose
The pipeline of private adaptation finance to vulnerable communities, and the barriers in the region
13:30–13:42 | Build
The last mile: a Multi-stakeholder Action Lab bankability walk-through
13:42–13:52 | Bridge
The missing middle and the aggregation problem
13:52–14:22 | Mobilise
Panel: What makes last-mile adaptation investable?
14:22–14:37 | Questions from the room and online
14:37–14:45 | Closing remarks and next steps
In person
Open to anyone with a COP31 Blue Zone badge. No advance registration is required.
Online
Registered COP31 participants can join the event through the COP31 Digital Platform or app. The Join button will appear shortly before the session begins.
View the event on the COP31 platform
Livestream and recording
The event will be livestreamed and recorded on the UNFCCC YouTube channel, where it will be available to all.
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