The GCF Workshop for Latin America and Caribbean Direct Access Entities: enhancing partnerships for climate action through greater access to innovative, inclusive climate financing

The GCF Workshop for Latin American and Caribbean Direct Access Entities (DAEs) brought together Direct Access Entities (DAEs) from the region in Montevideo, Uruguay from 27 – 28 July 2023 with the aim of enhancing DAE access to GCF funding. 

Starting with welcome remarks from the GCF Executive Director a.i., Henry Gonzalez, who expressed appreciation to the Government of Uruguay for hosting the event, the two-day event featured in-depth presentations by GCF sector specialists and other experts on the administrative and technical pre-requisites to successfully access GCF financial instruments.

The workshop provided critical insights into the challenges faced by DAEs, as well as opportunities from their partnerships with GCF. Numerous representatives of DAEs participated in panel discussions and presented their experiences and lessons learned in partnering with GCF.  Discussions were had on the Project Preparation Facility (PPF) and Simplified Approval Process (SAP), and participants received feedback and guidance from GCF on these and other measures aimed at facilitating access to innovative forms of climate financing.

GCF presented the updated strategic plan for the 2024-2027 period, outlining the Fund’s strategic direction and programming priorities for the next four years. It was followed by an explanation of GCF's accreditation process and the benefits of accreditation such as institutional strengthening, improvement in organisational policies and standards, and improvement in national coordination among government entities. While acknowledging the need for continued improvement, participants appreciated the user friendliness of the GCF accreditation systems.

There were also presentations that addressed the requirements for developing high quality concept notes and funding proposals to GCF. Pragmatic guidance was provided on specific documentation requirements and articulation of critical proposal elements such as the country’s climate rationale and theory of change as evidence of transformational change. Among the highlights of the workshop were parallel sessions, during one of which two country groups were tasked with formulating their climate rationale and theory of change.   This was highly successful as it gave participants practical working experience through a hands-on exercise.

Other parallel sessions addressed financial structuring, and environmental and social safeguards (ESS) for sustainability and inclusion. The ESS presentation called for the need to go beyond do-no-harm principles by embedding environmental and social considerations into proposals to improve both environmental and social outcomes. The parallel sessions on mitigation and adaptation provided valuable insights in using GCF resources to identify clear pathways to achieve a paradigm shift and to structure instruments to finance transformational activities.

Several project clinics and bilateral meetings took place during which DAEs obtained one-on-one guidance on improving the quality of their concept notes, and to present ideas for their pipeline of concept notes to be developed. Participants also benefited from informal working groups, side events, networking, and peer-to-peer knowledge-sharing opportunities.

In conclusion, the DAEs affirmed a shared inter-regional vision for deeper and more constructive partnerships on climate action, which can be achieved through innovative climate financing and new forms of institutional structures to address the environmental, social, and economic challenges associated with climate change.

For more information about the workshop or GCF, please contact the GCF Regional Desk for Latin America and the Caribbean.