Country Platforms
Driving Climate and Development Transformation
Country platforms are coordination mechanisms set up by developing countries to mobilize domestic and international financing sources for shared climate and development objectives.
In a sense, such an approach is far from new, but it has been reinvigorated by the scale of investment needs in development and climate, which are estimated to require trillions of dollars annually in Emerging Markets and Developing Economies (EMDEs).
In Partnership with: Coalition for Capacity on Climate Action (C3A)
The Emerging Next Generation of Country Platforms
Today’s emerging country platforms are characterized by three essential elements:
- A political commitment around an ambitious trajectory anchored in national climate and development priorities;
- The alignment of an investment plan on this trajectory;
- Coordination across domestic and foreign financial institutions to mobilize funding at the required scale.
While previous investment plans contained variations of these elements, the distinguishing factor of the current generation of platforms is their integrated focus on climate and development challenges. This holistic approach aims to facilitate profound structural changes, enabling countries to effectively tackle their climate and development objectives.
Importance of Government Leadership
Central to the success of these platforms is the active involvement of government authorities. Given the complex social and political contexts of climate change, platforms will only gain legitimacy and yield effective results if governments steer the process. This necessitates robust planning capacities and a flexible approach to respond to long-term opportunities. Furthermore, platforms must ensure alignment with national political agendas and public financial management practices.
In January 2025, FDL partnered with the Coalition for Capacity on Climate Action (C3A) to convene a private meeting of diverse high-level stakeholders. This gathering focused on reviewing recent country platform initiatives, sharing lessons learned, and discussing critical factors such as enhancing planning capacities for effective resource mobilization, establishing robust governance structures to mitigate coordination risks, and creating strategies for leveraging domestic financial systems to facilitate local currency financing.
The goal of this policy note is to summarize the key takeaways from these discussions and propose a clear path forward towards optimizing the role of country platforms in achieving climate and development goals.
