Cabo Verde has been taking decisive steps to align its national policies with global standards of sustainability and transparency. The recent release of the Portuguese version of the Reference Manual for the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) under the Paris Agreement, alongside the capacity-building efforts for the Green Climate Fund (GCF), guides this issue of the Climate Portal newsletter. 

We know that climate governance and international finance are complex, cross-cutting matters. Governments, municipalities, academia, and local communities play different roles, face distinct geographic vulnerabilities, and, subsequently, require tailored tools to mitigate the impacts of climate change. How can we best meet these highly technical demands? How can we empower our national institutions according to our specific small-island challenges? 

To answer this, the National Secretariat for Climate Action (SNAC) and the Ministry of Finance have joined forces in an operational partnership with LuxDev. This cooperation aims to build capacity within the Cape Verdean institutional ecosystem, preparing the country to directly manage international resources. In this context, this edition highlights: (i) workshops on the GCF project development cycle, (ii) key advancements toward accrediting the Ministry of Finance as a Direct Access Entity, (iii) the integration of new technical handbooks in our official language, and (iv) the consolidation of a robust project portfolio mapped to our islands’ priorities. 

With these new capacity-building roadmaps validated, we have the best reasons to dedicate this newsletter issue to decentralization and the practical impact of policies. We feature contributions on the outcomes of the 5th Ocean Decade International Conference in Boa Vista, the role of municipalities through the Local Climate Action Plans (PLAC) presented to the ANMCV, and grassroot mobilization examples such as the “Nos Salinas, Nos Clima” urban initiative and youth entrepreneurship from the Blue Youth Hackathon. This work will be complete when scientific evidence, international fiduciary funds, and community energy seamlessly merge to secure a just and self-reliant climate transition.