In Sri Lanka, GGGI is partnering with the Climate Change Secretariat (CCS) of the Ministry of Environment (MoE) to implement the GCF Readiness project “Mobilizing International and Domestic Climate Finance and Private Investments for Climate Resilience in Sri Lanka”. This project enhances institutional capacities at the national and provincial levels, strengthens frameworks for climate finance mobilization, and enables private sector engagement in climate-resilient investments.

This work builds directly on the achievements of the earlier GCF-funded National Adaptation Plan Readiness Support (GCF-NAPRS) Project, which supported the preparation of Sri Lanka’s revised National Adaptation Plan (2026-2035) and nine Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs) (2026-2035) through multiple rounds of stakeholder consultations. It also facilitated the development of provincial climate exposure and hotspot maps as evidence-based tools for adaptation planning and supported the establishment of Provincial Climate Institutions including Provincial Climate Committees (PCCs) and Provincial Climate Units (PCUs) to institutionalize subnational climate action. In addition, the GCF-NAPRS Project conducted a Provincial Capacity Needs Assessment and delivered targeted training to strengthen the enabling framework for provincial adaptation planning.

Despite these achievements, Sri Lanka continues to face systemic barriers to integrating climate resilience into provincial policy and governance structures. Provincial statutes and planning processes often lack mandatory provisions for climate action, limiting the ability of local administrations to access climate finance and implement adaptation measures. Coordination between national and provincial frameworks remains uneven, and legal/policy gaps hinder the effective mainstreaming of climate adaptation and financing mechanisms into development planning.

Although the GCF-NAPRS Project established a strong foundation, further work is needed to ensure that provincial statutes and policy frameworks are updated and harmonized with national and international climate priorities. Many existing provincial statutes still need revision, while new legislative instruments are required to address emerging climate risks and enable access to climate finance. The policy studies under this project are designed to strengthen Sri Lanka’s overall climate-resilient governance framework at the provincial level. The recommendations generated through this work will help ensure that all provinces are well-positioned to access climate finance and mobilise private-sector investment for long-term resilience across the country.

The Climate Policy Expert Consultant will play a central role in carrying forward this work, by reviewing provincial statutes and policies, proposing reforms, and building the capacity of provincial stakeholders across the nine provinces. The consultant’s work will ensure that provincial-level frameworks are aligned with national strategies and international agreements, creating the legal and institutional conditions necessary to unlock climate finance and scale adaptation action. In close collaboration with the Legal Consultant, the Policy Expert will ensure that policy recommendations are accompanied by implementable statutory and legal instruments, providing a comprehensive framework for provincial climate governance and finance mobilization. Parallel to the provincial work, the consultant will conduct a pilot of the same in a selected local authority of a Province to capture lessons learnt for scaling up.

This consultancy will be implemented in close coordination with other thematic consultants under the project to ensure cross-sectoral alignment and integration.

OBJECTIVES OF THE ASSIGNMENT

1. Conduct a comprehensive policy gap assessment covering all nine provinces, ensuring that each province is individually analyzed in terms of statutes, governance processes, and barriers to climate adaptation and finance mobilization.
2. Assess how the responsibilities for sectors vulnerable to climate change as presented in the Provincial Adaptation Plans (PAPs), are organized across provincial ministries, providing context for co-financing and for attracting international and domestic climate finance and private investments for resilience.
3. Conduct a pilot policy gap analysis for one selected local authority (Municipal or Urban Council) to identify localized governance and policy constraints, generate practical insights, and document learnings for future replication across other local authorities.
4. Provide technical input to design and deliver an online training module for provincial stakeholders including PCUs and Sectoral Climate Cells (SCCs) on assessing legal and policy gaps and barriers to unlocking climate finance investments.
5. Draft technical recommendations for reforms to align provincial statutes and policies with national adaptation and climate finance frameworks.
6. Organize and facilitate provincial-level capacity-building workshops on policy alignment and integration of climate finance into provincial planning.
7. Provide technical inputs to ensure policy alignment in nine provincial climate finance roadmaps, including participation in consultations and validation meetings to finalize these roadmaps.

**These objectives are designed to complement the statutory reforms to be identified by a Legal Consultant, ensuring that policy recommendations are effectively translated into legal provisions at the provincial level.

DELIVERABLES AND PAYMENT SCHEDULE