Strengthening Multilevel Climate Action: Four Countries Selected for ACT Technical Assistance Programme
Armenia, Chile, Kiribati and Pakistan will receive targeted support to strengthen collaboration between national and subnational governments, helping turn climate commitments into implementation.
As governments gather at COP31 to accelerate climate action, the Coalition for High Ambition Multilevel Partnerships (CHAMP) for Climate Action is taking another step in translating political commitment into practical delivery.
World Resources Institute (WRI), with support from the NDC Partnership (both members of the CHAMP coalition), announced the Accelerating Climate Transitions through Subnational Action (ACT) Programme in Antalya, Türkiye.
Four CHAMP-endorsing countries — Armenia, Chile, Kiribati and Pakistan — were selected from a competitive pool of 22 applicants to receive targeted technical support aimed at strengthening multilevel climate governance and accelerating implementation of national climate commitments.
For countries not selected to receive support through ACT, their applications remain active in the NDC Partnership’s Knowledge Nook (kNook), ensuring their requests for support are visible to partners and can be matched with resources as they become available.
Turning ambition into implementation
Since its launch at COP28, CHAMP-endorsing countries have consistently highlighted the need for practical support to advance implementation. The ACT Programme was created to respond directly to that demand.
The program will provide up to $200,000 in tailored support to each selected country through 2028. Support may include technical assistance, institutional strengthening, coordination mechanisms, capacity-building activities and efforts to improve access to climate finance.
By giving countries the tools needed to strengthen collaboration between national and subnational governments, ACT contributes directly to all three pillars of the CHAMP Implementation Roadmap 2026–2028:
- Strengthening multilevel climate governance;
- Catalyzing partnerships for local climate delivery; and
- Scaling up and unlocking climate finance.
The four selected countries represent diverse geographies, governance systems and climate priorities, while sharing a common objective of wanting to strengthen cooperation across levels of government in order to deliver climate goals — and benefits for residents — more effectively.
Armenia
Armenia’s proposal focuses on strengthening multilevel governance for the implementation of its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) in the energy sector, building marz-level (provincial) capacity to translate national energy targets into subnational delivery.
The proposal builds on existing national energy planning frameworks and a structured marz engagement model, with the national ministry retaining coordination authority.
The project is expected to deliver four actionable adaptation plans, strengthen climate governance and institutional capacity at the local level, increase readiness to attract adaptation finance, and establish a scalable model for integrating climate adaptation into regional development planning across Armenia.
Chile
Chile’s proposal focuses on systematizing successful local climate action experiences into a finance readiness framework, working across all 16 regions of the country through the legally mandated Regional Climate Change Committees (CORECCs) and the national climate finance coordination structure (GAFICCOR).
The project will seek to deepen and systematize an existing multilevel coordination structure through collaboration and co-design with subnational governments.
The project will also establish a sustainable national mechanism for subnational climate finance, strengthen knowledge exchange and capacity across Chile’s 16 regions, and develop a pipeline of investment-ready projects that will accelerate implementation of NDC 3.0 commitments.
Kiribati
Kiribati’s proposal focuses on strengthening national-subnational systems for NDC implementation across four pilot islands (Abemama, Butaritari, Kiritimati and North Tabiteuea) through a gap assessment followed by targeted coordination and capacity building.
As a dispersed island state with territory that spans 3.5 million square kilometers (1.4 million square miles) of ocean, strong multilevel governance is a necessity for Kiribati. The project will focus on a comprehensive assessment as a critical first step, followed by systems design.
The project will strengthen island-level climate data, monitoring, planning and investment systems; establish practical mechanisms for coordination between national institutions and Island Councils; and develop a scalable model for implementing and tracking NDC commitments across Kiribati's territory. The approach has direct relevance for many other Small Island Developing States.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s proposal focuses on strengthening provincial integration into the national Measurement, Reporting and Verification (MRV) and climate transparency system, building on the existing Pakistan Climate Transparency Platform and the country’s first Biennial Transparency Report, submitted in June 2025. Punjab and Sindh are named as pilot provinces, with ambition to scale nationally.
Pakistan’s proposal stands out for its focus on transparency and accountability systems, making the case for multilevel governance as the backbone of a functioning climate reporting architecture.
The project will establish a pilot multilevel climate governance and reporting system connecting federal, provincial and local governments; strengthen subnational climate data and reporting capacity; and create a scalable mechanism to support implementation, transparency and accountability for Pakistan’s NDC 3.0 nationwide.
We invite implementing partners with relevant expertise to respond to our open requests for proposals to support ACT projects in Armenia, Chile, Kiribati and Pakistan.
A growing platform for implementation
The ACT Programme reinforces a core principle behind CHAMP with direct assistance: Effective climate action depends on strong partnerships between national and subnational governments. Cities, states and regions are responsible for delivering many of the policies and investments that reduce emissions, build resilience and improve people's lives. Yet they often face barriers related to financing, institutional capacity and participation in decision-making processes.
By investing in practical solutions to these challenges, ACT aims to demonstrate how multilevel partnerships can accelerate climate implementation on the ground and generate lessons that can inform climate action globally.
From COP28 to COP31, CHAMP has evolved from a political commitment into a growing platform for implementation. The selection of Armenia, Chile, Kiribati and Pakistan marks an important milestone in that transition, helping transform climate ambition into action through stronger collaboration across all levels of government.