Thread by @CFANadvisors

Starting now! Cultivating Communities of Practice in the Global South - join us in person at @SEforALLorg's #SDG7 pavilion at #COP26, watch virtually (👉bit.ly/303M1CB), or follow along here for live updates.

Moderator @DavidGumbsRE starts us off: “While finance & technologies are available to transition to clean and efficient energy, and provide access for all while avoiding a climate catastrophe, countries in the global south face severe capacity constraints in their transition.”

Exciting to see @meyerak of @RockyMtnInst's Energy Transition Academy introducing the initiative:

ETA has conducted a demand assessment and identified five key catalysts for 'transformative change':
1. Experience exchange
2. Learning
3. Community
4. Innovation
5. Resources

CFAN's @Beny_Bartel takes the stage: “We need a radical rethink of the traditional fly in and fly out support that is provided to help countries access climate finance.”

“There was a resounding demand for the type of enabling assistance to unblock short-term problems and build long term capacity.”

"At its core, CFAN is locally driven."

Now for on the ground discussion of communities of practice! Looking forward to talking about practicalities, lessons learned, and best practices.

Joshua Ogada at @LEDSAfrica speaking now on leader engagement and buy-in: "Sometimes it is a matter of harnessing and bringing [local] expertise to the forefront so we have homegrown experts who are appreciated and supported in their work."

"In terms of building leadership and providing for a community of practice, the most important thing is providing for co-creation."

.@FutureInNature of @carilecpower speaking now on challenges utilities face in developing peer-to-peer learning for energy transition in the Caribbean: "The critical challenge is the actual structure of the industry and also time."

"The scale that we’re at in the islands - most islands have one utility, some might have two. This comes with a variety of conditions. The relationship building is a critical piece, and that takes time."

"You have to really tailor it into the story of the persons actually putting in the work on the ground, and have them share their learning. That's the way forward."

Jillene Connors Belopolsky of @cleancooking next, speaking on communities of practice as a means for gender empowerment: "The simplest solution is to ensure that there's equal representation of women across communities of practice, regardless of issue."

"We can integrate women in a meaningful way and bring them to the forefront of the energy transition, rather than just the beneficiaries of development assistance."

Angela Whitney of the #GreenBankDesignPlatform speaking on accelerating the creation of green banks such that each country undertaking it isn't starting from scratch.

"There's a two-way learning there - we see green banks as a partner to public finance. We make sure that learning goes in all directions such that it is a community of peers but also the lessons are elevated to financial institutions on a broader level."

"Full engagement and buy-in to local institutions are critical to actually delivering finance. The community is excited and there is no lack of engagement from practitioners on the ground - it's really making sure it’s plugged into other convos on the ground."
#RMIatCOP

"Creating spaces where these discrete communities can come to discuss, particularly for these intersectional issues so that we’re not competing for scarce resources."

"Access to knowledge is an equity issue - it's not just access to finance."

"We are co-creating solutions together. Client and patron arrangements is not the way to go [but rather] meeting each other at the point of greatest need."

Incredible dialogue today. Huge thanks to our speakers, moderator, and host. Communities of practice are fundamentally about equity, access, and opening the door to a wider diversity of perspectives.