The conference was held at the Bilbao Exhibition Centre (BEC) in Barakaldo from 23 to 25 May, to offer solutions on financing, markets and investment and climate markets, and was attended by the Basque Government's Minister of Economic Development, Sustainability and Environment, Arantxa Tapia, at the institutional opening ceremony.

The International Network of Regional Governments for Sustainable Development, Regions4, has organized a session on financing for climate adaptation and biodiversity action at local and regional level

Within the framework of Innovate4Climate, the international network Regions4, which represents 47 regions from 21 countries under the presidency of the Basque Country, has organized, in collaboration with the Generalitat of Catalonia, a parallel session on financing for climate adaptation and the protection of biodiversity at local and regional level under the title "Unlocking finance for climate adaptation and biodiversity action at the local and regional level". During the roundtable discussion, Adolfo Uriarte, Director of Natural Heritage and Climate Change of the Basque Government, and Alexander Boto, Director of Ihobe-Public Environmental Management Company, participated and the last one also served as moderator of the panel.

Climate change and biodiversity loss present financial challenges and opportunities that must be addressed to ensure the fulfilment of global objectives and commitments.

Regional governments, such as those grouped in Regions4, are key actors in enabling and driving the necessary transitions towards climate resilience. As intermediaries between the local and global levels, they are the institutional link that allows broader territorial approaches that bridge the urban-rural divide. Regional governments maintain close and functional relationships with stakeholders and citizens and are, therefore, in a unique position to drive innovative solutions.

Unlocking funding for action remains a key obstacle to ensuring climate resilience and ecosystem protection. The need for accelerated and transformative action at all levels of government is clear. This requires giving priority to decentralization of opportunities of funding and the availability of financial tools at regional level.

In addition to Adolfo Uriarte and Alexander Boto, the workshop organized by Regions4 featured Leo Bejarano, head of the Catalan Office for Climate Change of the Government of Catalonia; Augustin Maria, representative of the City Climate Finance Gap Fun of the World Bank; Iñigo López Tapia, head of Capital Markets and Investor Relations at Kutxabank; and Carla Orrego, Transformative Finance Manager de la Global Innovation Lab for Climate Change de la CPI (Climate Policy Initiative).

More resources for climate action

One of the key tools to help countries and regions fight climate change and its impacts are the designated climate finance, financing from public, private and alternative sources that support and promote mitigation and adaptation actions to climate change. This can be used to finance actions that reduce greenhouse gas emissions or actions that help reduce vulnerability and increase climate resilience of human and ecological systems.

Today, the gap between climate finance needs and existing funds remains huge and, to reduce that gap, new innovative financial instruments and mechanisms are required to unlock private and public investment aimed at fighting the impacts of climate change, in particular for the local and regional level.

The annual global conference Innovate4Climate, driven by the World Bank Group, has brought together over 2,000 thought leaders, representatives from financial institutions and innovative academic entities, technical experts, entrepreneurs, and other stakeholders interested in linking climate innovation with investment opportunities, transforming dialogue into action. There, they have been able to connect to drive climate ambition, learn cutting-edge approaches to accelerate climate action and identify new investors, customers and partners, with the aim of showcasing innovative climate solutions regarding finance, markets, policies and technology.