Vertical integration and learning for low-emission development in Africa and Southeast-Asia

Cities and regions are powerful drivers for climate action throughout the world: they translate national targets into action and have thus far achieved great progress. However, in spite of national climate targets being in place, very few countries have to date been able to establish coordination mechanisms between the national and subnational levels that allow them to achieve effective climate policy.

The Vertical Integration and Learning for Low-Emission Development (V-LED) project supported the governments of Kenya, South Africa, Vietnam and the Philippines to tap the full potential of subnational climate action by strengthening vertical policy coordination processes and learning networks between local actors.

V-LED's first phase (02.2015–01.2019) aimed to (1) facilitate collaboration between government levels through vertical climate dialogues, (2) strengthen horizontal learning through good practice exchanges, regional workshops and a study tour (3) build local climate action capacities through toolkits and a series of trainings, and (4) research enabling factors for multi-level climate governance and local climate action. 

The second phase of the project (02.2019–06.2021) continued to support vertical and horizontal dialogue while consolidating lessons learnt to implement a coaching strategy: selected municipal and county governments in South Africa and Kenya were supported through context-specific coaching processes in order to drive forward local climate actions.

V-LED was implemented by adelphi in partnership with UN Habitat, One World, Sustainable Energy Africa, and the Institute for Law and Environmental Governance. The project was supported by the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety as part of its International Climate Initiative (IKI).