The opening plenary set the scene for Development & Climate Days 2025: a unique opportunity to unite, collaborate, and amplify the urgent needs of those on the climate frontlines.

After an introduction to D&C Days and welcoming remarks we invited all participants to settle in to an exercise where we explored how to turn ambition into action.

Following this, in a series of engaging relay-style interviews, representatives from D&C Days themes and sessions made the case for why their topics mattered and why their sessions should be a priority for participants to attend.

We closed with a visual journey through the day ahead, mapping the connections between sessions and showing how the pieces fitted together.

This session was hosted by Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

This session explored how countries are driving locally led action by devolving decision-making and channelling funds to the local level. Together, we dived into real-world examples from national governments across a range of development contexts to learn how national actors are creating opportunities, tackling context-specific challenges, and building platforms to scale funding flows. Participants worked together to co-develop key messages on what’s needed to scale up LLA.

This session was hosted by LIFE-AR and the World Bank.

This session uncovered what it really takes to make interagency collaboration work, sharing candid insights, practical advice, and lessons learned from both success stories and stumbles along the way. Session participants heard how teams have built trust across mandates, overcome silos, and found creative ways to deliver more together than alone. Session hosts shared fresh ideas—and a few cautionary tales—for participants' winning collaborations for resilience.

This session was hosted by Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC).

With dramatic changes in the global finance landscape, funders need to think innovatively about how they deliver support for adaptation. We need more strategic cooperation and coordination between funders that leverages the unique role each plays in navigating the increasingly scattered and inaccessible landscape of adaptation finance.

This session hosted a fireside chat between funders from bilateral, multilateral, philanthropic, and private sectors, to explore better ways of working together going forward.

This session was hosted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

A critical examination of how adaptation finance can be made more efficient, effective, and accountable to local actors, this session explored practical cases of how key financing models (Decentralized Climate Finance, Community-Led Approaches, and Enhanced Direct Access) perform in practice.

Drawing on the lived experiences of communities and practitioners, session hosts surfaced insights into what it takes to finance resilience in ways that strengthen local systems and leadership. To advance this agenda at COP30, the session invited participants to co-create advocacy messages that shift the focus from the amount of finance delivered to its effectiveness.

This session was hosted by DanChurchAid.

For those just waking up to join D&C Days or wanting a recap on the discussions so far, this energising, interactive plenary brought the morning’s ideas to life. We opened with a live visual storytelling recap from our graphic artist, capturing the key insights and inspirations shared so far.

From there, a diverse panel—spanning grassroots leaders, the Climate Champions Team, and the COP30 Presidency—dived into what’s working, what’s missing, and what must guide us on the road to Belém. Together, we’ll explored how to:

• - Strengthen the voice and influence of non-state actors,
• - Bridge local realities with global negotiations, and
• - Advance adaptation that’s just, inclusive, and rooted in community experience.

Through a live poll and real-time reflections, participants shaped the conversation by identifying the collective priorities for driving resilience and climate justice ahead of COP30.

This session was hosted by the Global Resilience Partnership (GRP).

What can we learn from trust-based giving to help us take more risks and scale up locally led climate action at the grassroots level?

While "trust-based" grant giving may seem more of a theoretical concept, grassroots organisations around the world have long-standing relationships and mechanisms for grant giving built around the concept. This session explored real-world examples and lessons from organisations across the globe that are already using these approaches.

This session was hosted by the Comuá Network and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

This interactive session examined how philanthropy can effectively enable, and scale locally led adaptation (LLA). ClimateWorks, Comic Relief, Avina, and SDI shared concise strategies, while grassroots actors provided real-time feedback to ensure discussions were grounded in reality. Using the Principles for LLA as a framework, participants collectively identified the 2–3 principles where philanthropy has the most critical role to play, exploring how this support could be strengthened, and reflecting on what needs to change for these strategies to align with local priorities. The session aimed to surface candid insights and practical next steps for philanthropic action.

This session was hosted by Avina.

Accountability efforts are happening everywhere, but the conversations don’t always connect at different levels. Global climate accountability systems often overlook local mechanisms. How can we bridge those gaps?

As the Global Goal on Adaptation discussions shift from design to delivery, connecting local MEL and accountability practices will be vital for success. This session explored how to ground the GGA within national and community frameworks, identifying key actions for Parties at COP30 and beyond. Participants discussed how international, national, and local actors could collaborate to ensure adaptation monitoring delivers meaningful results for those most affected.

This session was hosted by Wellcome Trust and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).

This session explored different types of private sector actors and their role in financing nature and locally led action. We heard directly from a spectrum of private sector actors and local representatives - from global funds to local enterprises - to examine real-world strategies, challenges, and successes.

This session was hosted by the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) and the Green Economy Coalition (GEC).

This closing plenary provided a space for honest reflections on what matters most. This is where the day's conversations were crystallised into the messages and demands we could carry into the climate negotiations at COP30.

Our theme leads shared what emerged from their sessions including challenging ideas on the horizon, what we should be calling for imminently and what messages should reach COP30 negotiators. We captured the day’s breakthroughs and revisit the visual story of our day through the graphic note-taking that captured new ideas, outcomes, and unexpected connections emerging across sessions.

We also looked ahead to Belém, in coversation with a representative from the COP30 Presidency, identifying the most contentious issues for negotiatiator—and crucially, the areas where our community could genuinely influence outcomes. Through live Mentimeter polls, we heard from everyone in the room about what stood out most from the sessions, what action should be prioritised and what was needed for profound change?

The session was hosted by Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre (RCCC) and the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED).