The Asia Low Emission Development Strategies (LEDS) Forum serves as the premier gathering of policymakers, donors, practitioners, and other experts involved in enabling low-emission, climate-resilient development in Asia. Themed ‘Mobilizing Finance for Priority Actions,’ the Asia LEDS Forum 2016 will be held on June 27-29 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

Organized by the Asia LEDS Partnership and hosted by the Vietnam Ministry of Planning and Investment, with support from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Climate and Development Knowledge Network (CDKN), LEDS Global Partnership (LEDS GP), and other partners, the Forum aims to support countries in mobilizing finance to implement LEDS aligned with Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs).

The Forum is expected to convene some 200-250 leaders working on LEDS and green growth from across the region, including national and sub-national policymakers, officials from development agencies and financial institutions, and representatives from the private sector, academe, and NGOs.

Panel and parallel sessions will focus on determining the scale of financing necessary to implement priority actions, and identifying suitable financing sources and the means to access them. Meanwhile, ‘deep dive’ tracks will study available policy and financing instruments to drive public and private investment, behavior change, and decision-making by stakeholders.

Immediately after the Forum, the Asia LEDS Partnership Regional Workshop, ‘Mechanisms that Catalyze Finance for Grid-Connected Clean Energy in Asia’ will be held on June 30-July 1.

First held in 2012 in Bangkok, Thailand, the Asia LEDS Forum was organized to enhance regional coordination on LEDS and green growth, identify priorities for promoting regional capacity building and knowledge sharing, and establish the Asia LEDS Partnership. Today, the Partnership is firmly established as a voluntary regional network comprising organizations and individuals working to advance and implement low carbon, climate resilient development in Asia.

The USAID Low Emissions Asian Development (USAID LEAD) Programme, implemented by ICF International, has been providing secretariat services in support of the Asia LEDS Partnership. This year, management of the secretariat is transitioning to ICLEI – Local Governments for Sustainability.

Learn more about the Asia LEDS Forum 2016 at forum2016.asialeds.org.

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