Green Climate Fund Board approves USD 1 billion for climate action, sets out strategic vision

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board has given a major boost to climate finance for developing countries with the approval of over USD 1 billion of funding for low-emission, climate-resilient development. The 27th Board meeting also adopted the Updated Strategic Plan for the Green Climate Fund 2020-2023, setting an ambitious direction for GCF during its first replenishment period.

A total of 16 projects were given the green light by the Board at the virtual meeting this week to a value of USD 1.01 billion, raising the value of GCF’s total portfolio to USD 7.2 billion. The approved projects and programmes are listed below and more details of each are available on the GCF website.

The 27th Board meeting is the final Board meeting of the year and the last one to be presided over by the current Co-Chairs. Over USD 2 billion in new climate finance was approved by the Board in 2020, making it a record year for GCF programming.

Co-Chair Nauman Bashir Bhatti, from Pakistan, stated, “As the world responds to COVID-19 and the climate crisis, the one billion dollars of climate finance approved this week will provide much needed support for developing countries. In particular, a number of the projects we approved will help countries to build their climate-resilience in the face of devastating climate impacts. I hope that the Updated Strategic Plan that we have adopted at this meeting will help in channelling enhanced climate flows to the developing countries. I am delighted that GCF has continued to accelerate climate action during this difficult period, and I would like to thank my Co-Chair, the Board and Secretariat for all their work this year.”

Co-Chair Sue Szabo, from Canada, said: “Adopting the Updated Strategic Plan is a key achievement that will help the Fund continue to promote a low-emission and climate resilient future. GCF’s progress despite COVID-19 challenges underscore its relevance and robustness. I would like to thank my fellow Co-Chair, the Board, the Secretariat and the Independent Units for their incredible work throughout the year.”

GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec stated: “GCF has stepped up its operations this year in spite of the global pandemic, and is providing more support to developing countries than ever as we help them to build a low-emission, climate-resilient recovery. The ambitious work programme the Board has approved for 2021 will give further momentum to making our operations more efficient and more effective. We signed project agreements for four projects immediately upon their approval at this Board meeting, showing how quickly we are moving to not only approve, but to implement these vital projects and programmes in developing countries.”

The five-day Board meeting also resulted in the accreditation of four new project partners. GCF now has over 100 Accredited Entities, the partner organisations which propose and implement the climate projects funded by GCF. They range from smaller national and local organisations (Direct Access Entities) to larger, multi-national bodies, and encompass public and private sectors, as well as civil society organisations.

The 27th GCF Board meeting approved the following projects and programmes:

• USD 23.1 million for Improving Adaptive Capacity and Risk Management of Rural communities in Mongolia with UNDP (FP 141)
• USD 82 million for Argentina REDD-plus RBP for results period 2014-2016 with FAO (FP142)
• USD 99.5 million for Planting Climate Resilience in Rural Communities of the Northeast (PCRP) with IFAD (FP143)
• USD 54.2 million for Costa Rica REDD-plus Results-Based Payments for 2014 and 2015 with UNDP (FP144)
• USD 29.8 million for RELIVE – REsilient LIVElihoods of vulnerable smallholder farmers in the Mayan landscapes and the Dry Corridor of Guatemala with FAO (FP145)
• USD 64.1 million for Bio-CLIMA: Integrated climate action to reduce deforestation and strengthen resilience in BOSAWÁS and Rio San Juan Biospheres with CABEI (FP146)
• USD 47.4 million for Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for resilience in 5 island countries of the Pacific Ocean with UNEP (FP147)
• USD 30 million for Participation in Energy Access Relief Facility ("EARF") with Acumen (FP148)
• USD 100 million for Green Climate Financing Facility for Local Financial Institutions in Latin-America with CAF (FP149)
• USD 256.5 million for Promoting private sector investment through large scale adoption of energy saving technologies and equipment for Textile and Readymade Garment (RMG) sectors of Bangladesh with IDCOL (FP150)
• USD 18.5 million for Technical Assistance (TA) Facility for the Global Subnational Climate Fund with IUCN (FP151) and
• USD 150 million for the Global Subnational Climate Fund (SnCF Global) – Equity with PCA (FP152)
• USD 26.7 million for Mongolian Green Finance Corporation with XacBank (FP153).

The following projects were also approved under the Simplified Approval Process (SAP):

• USD 9.9 million for Climate proofing food production investments in Imbo and Moso basins in the Republic of Burundi with IFAD (SAP 017)
• USD 10 million for Enhancing Climate Information Systems for Resilient Development in Liberia (Liberia CIS) with AfDB (SAP018)
• USD 9.9 million for Gums for Adaptation and Mitigation in Sudan (GAMS): Enhancing adaptive capacity of local communities and restoring carbon sink potential of the Gum Arabic belt, expanding Africa’s Great Green Wall with FAO (SAP019).

GCF signed project agreements (known as Funded Activities Agreements) for four of these projects immediately upon Board approval of the funding decision. This marks a rapid move towards implementation, and supports the aim of delivering climate finance as quickly as possible to aid developing countries in meeting their climate ambitions during the era of COVID-19. Funded Activities Agreements were signed for FP141, FP142, FP144, and FP147.

The GCF Board also approved the accreditation application of the following organisations:

• Kemitraan bagi Pembaruan Tata Pemerintahan (Partnership for Governance Reform) (Kemitraan), based in Indonesia;
• the National Trust for Nature Conservation (NTNC), based in Nepal;
• KCB Bank Kenya Limited (KCB), based in Kenya; and
• Camco Management Limited (Camco), based in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.