Green Missions for Climate Finance – Final Forum in Vilnius Highlights New Cooperation Pathways Between Türkiye and Lithuania

At the forum of the Green Missions for Climate Finance (GM4Finance) held in Vilnius on 10 December 2025, highlighted the deepening cooperation between Türkiye and Lithuania in climate finance, energy efficiency, and sustainable municipal development. The event brought together representatives of government institutions, municipalities, academic institutions, business associations, and sustainability experts from both countries to discuss opportunities for local transformation and the value of international collaboration.

The forum is the final phase of the project „Green Missions for Climate Finance: Türkiye–Lithuania Collaborative Learning for Energy-Smart Municipalities (GM4Finance)“.

This initiative is a mutual learning process that included good-practice exchange visits, training sessions, thematic workshops, and cooperation between municipalities, aimed at strengthening local capacities to develop and advance initiatives related to climate change, the EU Green Deal, and the transition to a new energy system.

Municipalities Need Not Only Ideas, but Financial Solutions

Local authorities play an increasingly important role in addressing climate change. However, municipalities often lack not political will, but practical knowledge on how to attract financing for large-scale initiatives.

GM4Finance was designed to address this challenge by providing methods, tools, and competencies that help municipalities move from ideas to concrete investments.

One of the project’s most significant achievements presented at the forum was the Comprehensive Financial Attraction Toolkit, developed jointly by Antalya Metropolitan Municipality, Švenčionys District Municipality, IPAdemi, the Directorate for EU Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Türkiye, and project experts. The Financial Attraction Toolkit will be available on the MLGP4Climate platform, which supports municipalities and organisations in planning green projects, developing international cooperation, and strengthening climate resilience. The comprehensive Financial Attraction Toolkit is not theoretical—it provides opportunity maps, an overview of EU programmes, and practical guidelines for preparing financial applications

Antalya and Švenčionys: Advancing the Green Transition

The forum showcased real examples of how the project helped municipalities refine priorities and prepare investment plans.

• Antalya presented its efforts to move toward climate neutrality through building modernization, energy efficiency improvements, and sustainable transport investments.
• Švenčionys, although a smaller municipality, is actively progressing as well — implementing public building renovation, promoting energy-saving measures, and introducing innovations.

These examples demonstrate that municipalities of all sizes can become key drivers of the green transition.

International Partnerships as a Key Success Factor

Discussions at the forum underscored that successful climate project implementation requires:

• cross-sector cooperation,
• access to appropriate financing mechanisms,
• international knowledge exchange,
• strong political leadership at the local level.

GM4Finance is a compelling example of how these elements can be effectively integrated. The event reaffirmed that municipalities with active international partners can identify solutions more quickly, attract investment more easily, and implement initiatives more efficiently.

Lithuania’s Ambassador to Türkiye, Marius Janukonis, highlighted the importance of this cooperation

„The challenges of climate change do not recognize national borders, which is why international cooperation among municipalities, knowledge exchange, and capacity building are essential in the search for effective solutions. The GM4Finance project provides municipalities with tools to attract investment and implement initiatives that benefit local communities, while also revealing their strong potential to become leaders of change.
Cooperation between Lithuania and Türkiye in the field of climate action is already shaping partnerships between institutions, cities, and people—creating real impact and contributing to a more sustainable and resilient future for both countries“.

Project Implementation and Lithuania’s Support

The GM4Finance project was funded by the Lithuanian Development Cooperation and Democracy Promotion Programme, project is supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Lithuania and Embassy of the Republic of Lithuania to the Republic of Türkiye. This support reinforces Lithuania’s role in international climate action and contributes to the development of sustainable solutions at the regional level.

Looking Ahead

The forum served as a starting point for new joint initiatives between Türkiye and Lithuania, including applications to EU programmes, research collaborations, municipal capacity-building partnerships, and the development of green infrastructure and energy innovations. GM4Finance has laid a solid foundation for continued dialogue and practical cooperation, strengthening municipalities’ ability to implement climate projects and attract investment.

The Vilnius forum reinforced that the green transition is not only an environmental imperative, but also a strategic economic pathway. Municipalities that collaborate consistently can become influential regional actors, driving meaningful and lasting change.