The two-day Development & Climate Days (‘D&C Days’) workshop over the middle weekend of UN climate talks got underway in Marrakech on Saturday 12 November, exploring how local actors and civil society can help achieve the adaptation goals of the Paris agreement on global climate. For the first time in the history of the event, the private sector is involved in the form of the ‘We Mean Business’ coalition of influential businesses and investors working for a transition to a low-carbon economy. In her opening address, Clare Shakya, Director of Climate Change Group at the International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED), described as “hugely important” the participation of the private sector in this year’s event. “We need to be working with the private sector in order to get the investment in,” she added. As well We Mean Business, the Marrakech D&C Days is a partnership of (alphabetically) 4C Maroc, the World Bank-managed Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery, the International Development Research Centre, IIED, the Mary Robinson Foundation-Climate Justice, and the Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre.