Bonn, 17 Nov 2017. An insight into the discussion that emerged at a COP 23 side event in Bonn; jointly published with UNDP.

Since the Green Climate Fund (GCF) first began its resource mobilisation in 2014, when it rapidly raised more than USD 10 billion in pledges, it has allocated USD 2.7 billion into projects and programmes to date.

Considering the youth of the Fund and the infrastructure required to build it, some would argue that the investment of over one quarter of GCF’s resources is an excellent achievement. Considering that USD 131.1 million has actually been disbursed to date to developing countries, ‘unlocking the GCF’, understandingly, is a priority of the Fund. 

A consultation convened by UNDP at COP 23 focused on the GCF Readiness Programmes, designed to assist entities in applying for accreditation to GCF. As Ms Kerricia Hobson, representing the Ministry of Agriculture in Grenada said, “be prepared to fully commit to this application, as it requires dedication, and deliberation.”

The thoroughness of the GCF accreditation process is no secret, but that is the exact reason the GCF Readiness Programmes have been rolled out, and as Mr Shiva Sharma, a National Project Director at the Ministry of Finance of Nepal, attested, “they have been very helpful in providing support to the government and the specific entities throughout their applications.”

The World Resources Institute (WRI), UN Environment, and UNDP are implementers of GCF Readiness Programmes they provide to governments. They revealed in the discussion that it was a key success factor to identify possible entities that would most likely be accredited, therefore allowing the limited resources needed to build capacity in these entities to be channelled to the most appropriate activities.

Ms Maia Tskhvaradze, Chief Specialist of Climate Change Service, at the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources Protection, Georgia, suggested that making this decision on which entities to support, was fundamental, and needs to be taken earlier rather than later by countries with a number of entities in the application process, in order to maximise the efficient use of resources.

Read more...