B.33/13: Guidance on the approach and scope for providing support to adaptation activities

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.33/04 titled “Guidance on the approach and scope for providing support to adaptation activities”:

1. Welcomes the guidance on the GCF’s vision, approach and scope for providing support to enhance climate adaptation, as set out in annex VII;
2. Confirms, with regard to adaptation activities, in line with paragraph 31 of the Governing Instrument for the GCF, that the Fund will provide simplified and improved access to funding, including direct access, basing its activities on a country-driven approach and will encourage the involvement of relevant stakeholders, including vulnerable groups and addressing gender aspects;
3. Requests the Secretariat to engage with national designated authorities and accredited entities to urgently advance a pipeline of concept notes and funding proposals that will contribute to meeting the Board’s adaptation programming targets for the first replenishment period of the GCF;
4. Also requests the Secretariat to provide and enhance technical support and guidance, and encourage and facilitate the use of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and the Project Preparation Facility, as appropriate, to advance:
   1. The development of nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans, and other adaptation planning efforts that can help strengthen countrydriven, climate risk-informed and more systemic investment planning and pipeline origination for adaptation;
   2. Conceptualization of country-driven programmes of adaptation investments that respond to systematically identified adaptation needs and which will help identify financing for adaptation at scale;
   3. Preparation of high-quality adaptation concept notes and funding proposals, which are based on best available information about climate risk, vulnerability and adaptation solutions, and respond to systematically identified areas of adaptation needs; and
   4. The role of the private sector in adaptation, including through strengthening the engagement of the private sector in the preparation of national climate strategies and policies;
5. Reaffirms decision B.05/05, paragraph (d), which decided that in relation to adaptation, resources will be allocated based on the ability of a proposed activity to demonstrate its potential to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the context of promoting sustainable development and a paradigm shift; and decides that in order to demonstrate such potential to adapt, adaptation proposals will include an evidence-based analysis to show that the proposed activity is likely to be an effective adaptive response to the risk or impact of a specific climate change hazard, based on best available information and data including, inter alia, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and traditional, local and indigenous knowledge and practices;
6. Decides to continue to strengthen the linkage between adaptation planning outputs and programming in funding proposals;
7. Requests the Secretariat to enhance its efforts to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the project and programme cycle, in particular for adaptation projects;
8. Also requests the Secretariat, in the context of the revised Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme and the accreditation strategy under the Board’s consideration, as well as other relevant policy development processes, to identify additional actions that enhance GCF adaptation investments, including those identified in country and regional adaptation planning processes;
9. Further requests the Secretariat to consider, as part of the accreditation strategy under the Board’s consideration, the prioritization of accreditation applications from entities, particularly direct access entities and private sector entities, with a focus on adaptation projects/programmes;
10. Reiterates the need to enhance the private sector contribution towards developing and implementing national adaptation plans; and
11. Requests the Secretariat to further develop, for consideration by the Board as part of the update to the Strategic Plan for the GCF, proposals on updating the GCF’s strategic objectives and priorities, and requests for proposals or other programming initiatives, to further the implementation of the GCF’s strategic approach to adaptation programming, including options for possible adaptation programming parameters and output-based goals for adaptation.