UN Climate Change News, 17 May 2026 - Kigali will soon welcome over 250 participants from around the world for the NAP Expo 2026 (18-21 May 2026). Hosted in Kigali, Rwanda, the annual flagship event organized by the Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG) under the UNFCCC will bring together countries, technical experts, climate finance institutions, United Nations organizations, development partners and the private sector to accelerate the implementation of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs).
Advancing Adaptation Implementation
Since its launch in 2013, the NAP Expo has become the leading global platform for advancing national adaptation planning and implementation. The 2026 edition will focus on helping countries move from adaptation planning to implementation-ready portfolios, financing strategies and delivery systems capable of strengthening resilience by 2030 and beyond.
The Expo aims to foster meaningful interaction between country adaptation teams and providers of climate finance and technical support - including the Green Climate Fund, the Global Environment Facility, the Adaptation Fund, multilateral development banks and technical agencies - to catalyze support for adaptation action and strengthen access to finance, technology and capacity-building.
What to Expect
Under the theme "Climate resilience by 2030 and beyond", the NAP Expo 2026 will introduce a more implementation-oriented and interactive format than previous editions, with a strong focus on helping countries move from adaptation planning toward practical implementation and financing pathways.
A central feature of this year's Expo will be a hands-on series of collaborative sessions where participants will work in five pre-arranged country groups to translate National Adaptation Plan priorities into concrete, finance-ready projects and programmes. Throughout the series, countries will engage directly with technical assistance providers, climate finance institutions and development partners while working on their own national adaptation priorities and implementation challenges.
The sessions will focus on key adaptation themes including early warning systems, nature-based solutions, water security, agriculture, and drought resilience. Across the programme, participants will progressively develop adaptation project concepts, refine implementation approaches and present project ideas directly to climate funds, multilateral development banks and financing partners participating in the Expo.
Technical assistance partners - including UN organizations, development agencies and specialized institutions - will provide practical guidance to support countries in strengthening project design, implementation of readiness and access to finance.
The Expo will also showcase the updated UNFCCC NAP technical guidelines and launch the NAP Exchange (NAPX), a new platform designed to help countries transform NAPs into structured, implementation-ready and AI-enabled adaptation knowledge. Participants will explore how NAPX can support project development, financing engagement, monitoring, and implementation planning.
Additional sessions and clinics will cover adaptation portfolio design, adaptation costing methodologies, monitoring, evaluation and learning systems, AI tools for adaptation, climate risk data and remote sensing, implementation readiness, adaptation reporting and strengthening national systems for last-mile delivery.
NAP Expo 2026 will continue to host a session to provide participants that have submitted new National Adaptation Plans since the previous NAP Expo with the opportunity to share the lessons from their NAP journeys, recognizing their progress, leadership and contribution to global adaptation efforts.
By emphasizing practical collaboration, peer exchange, and direct engagement with funders and technical partners, the NAP Expo 2026 aims to strengthen implementation readiness and accelerate adaptation action on the ground.
Stay Connected
Visit the NAP Expo 2026 event page for the full programme, keynote announcements, session updates and livestream links to plenary discussions and keynote presentations.
