The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement Climate Finance Strategy in Southeast Asia: Enabling Conditions for Regional Climate Finance Readiness

Abstract: Southeast Asia is the hardest-hit region worldwide regarding the frequency and severity of natural hazards, which are deemed to increase significantly in the incoming years. The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement (RCRC) in Southeast Asia, through its International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) Asia Pacific Regional Office (RO), IFRC Country Cluster Support Teams (CCSTs) in Bangkok and Jakarta, and National Societies, provides tireless support on the ground to save countless lives from climate-related hazards such as floods, droughts, and typhoons. However, to keep providing community recovery, resilience, disaster risk reduction and mitigation, as well as climate change adaptation and mitigation, the RCRC Movement in Southeast Asia needs to significantly increase its funding capacity by creating innovative business models, thus engaging in climate finance. To do so, the RCRC Movement in Southeast Asia can develop a climate finance readiness strategy by focusing on several readiness dimensions: (1) Internal Capacity-Building, (2) External Capacity-Building, and (3) Contextual Environment. Each theme groups several enabling conditions for the RCRC Movement to develop to become ‘climate finance ready’. Internal Capacity-Building groups the enabling conditions of Policies and Plans, Budget and Time, Awareness and Training, Knowledge and Expertise. External Capacity-Building groups the enabling conditions of Humanitarian Diplomacy, Advocacy and Public Communications, Representation to Climate Funds, and Partnerships with Governments. Contextual Environment groups the enabling conditions of Climate Funds Eligibility, and Governmental Engagement.