Plenary Remarks at High-level Segment

Ecosystem degradation is a cause and a consequence of climate change, and ecosystem protection and restoration are powerful solutions to advert catastrophic climate change. Both the IPCC and the IPBES recognize that safeguarding and strengthening nature are essential to securing a livable future for humanity in the face of climate change.

The Sharm El-Sheikh Implementation Plan agreed at the UNFCCC COP27 last month also stresses the urgent need to address the interlinked global crises of climate change and biodiversity loss,  and the vital importance of protecting, conserving, restoring and sustainably using nature and ecosystems for effective and sustainable climate action. It also encourages Parties to consider nature-based solutions or ecosystem-based approaches for their mitigation and adaptation action.

With its over 200 public and private partners, GCF drives transformative climate solutions for a just energy, infrastructure, food systems and ecological transition towards net zero, climate resilient and nature-positive economies through four workstreams.

• First, we establish a conducive policy and institutional environment for novel climate solutions, including nature-based and ecosystem approches.
• Second, we catalyze climate innovation by ground-truthing new technologies, business models, financing instruments and practices.
• Third, we use scarce public resources to de-risk early investments that will establish a commercial track record for new climate solutions and crowd-in private finance. For example, we  financed a $600 million Amazon Bioeconomy Fund which encourages private investment through innovative financial instruments, including green bonds, to de-risk bio-businesses in the Amazon.
• And fourth, we green financial systems to accelerate the widespread adoption of commercially proven climate solutions.

About one third of projects and programmes recently approved by the Green Climate Fund demonstrate strong linkages with biodiversity and ecosystems, well in line with the scientific conclusions on the potential contribution of nature-based solutions to climate change.

The post-2020 global biodiversity framework may present new operational opportunities for the Green Climate Fund, to be considered in the context of update of its  Strategic Plan for 2024-2027  and in line with its “long-term vision on complementarity, coherence, and collaboration” with the Global Environment Facility.