7 April 2016: In the Paris Agreement, agreed upon by 195 UN Member States in December 2015, countries agreed to make “finance flows consistent with a pathway towards low greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate-resilient development.” Developing countries will receive financial resources for both mitigation and adaptation actions, while developed countries are expected to continue to lead in mobilizing climate finance from a variety of sources, with public funds playing a significant role in reaching the previously agreed US$100 billion annual target by 2020.

Monthly IIDS RS Climate Finance Updates aim to help track multilateral financing to support the finance goal agreed under the UNFCCC, which will in turn contribute to the implementation of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 13 (Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts).

Access to Finance

As we move from governance to implementation, climate finance news in March included a focus on access to finance, deploying climate finance, or the impacts on national budgets of climate policies. The Cook Islands, in the Pacific, received the first tranche of a total of US$150,000 in readiness funding from the Green Climate Fund (GCF). The US$75,000 grant will support the strengthening of the country's National Designated Authority (NDA) to the GCF, the organization of national consultations and the establishment of country-owned processes to "fast-track" access to GCF funding. Access to climate finance was also the theme of a seminar organized by the Government of Sweden in New York, with high-level speakers from Sweden, Bangladesh, Samoa and the UN Development Programme (UNDP). [GCF Press Release on the Cook Islands] [UNDP Press Release]

In related news, the Nordic Council of Ministers launched a study that recognizes that, while public actors have a responsibility for deploying climate finance, the contribution of the private sector will need to be significant. The study focuses on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), which are presented as a promising avenue for public authorities to engage with the private sector and ensure climate finance is leveraged and deployed effectively, thereby contributing to SDG 17 (Strengthen the means of implementation and revitalize the global partnership for sustainable development). [Norden Publication]

A study by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) explains how issues around climate change-related policies affect national budgets and proposes a methodology for calculating budgetary risk arising from climate change-related policies. [EBRD Study]

On available resources, the Nordic Environment Finance Corporation (NEFCO) published updated information on its financing instruments, including the Arctic Council Project Support Instrument (PSI), which provides funding for Arctic Council-approved projects in areas, including, pollution prevention, climate change mitigation, cleaner production and energy efficiency. PSI focus areas include sectors that generate short-lived climate pollutants (SLCPs). [NEFCO PSI Webpage]

Increasing Resilience in the Caribbean, Sudan and Peru

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