Following the development of their National Climate Change Response Policy (2011), the South African national government pioneered a large-scale capacity-building program, the Local Government Climate Change Support Programme (LGCCSP), to help provinces and municipalities better understand and manage climate change impacts through capacity building and technical support. The programme is designed to “catalyse climate action while building intergovernmental relationships” (Reddy et al., 2021, p.4). The key objectives are to facilitate peer exchange and vertical dialogue between levels of government, to mainstream climate change into subnational development planning, and to support municipalities in developing and financing climate projects through provision of information toolkits and a Municipal Climate Finance Guide, alongside other guides and templates for engaging stakeholders, assessing vulnerability and developing climate change response plans.