Long-term vision on complementary, coherence and collaboration between GCF and GEF

Your Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, Good afternoon.

Collaborating on climate finance is vital if we want to fulfil COP26 commitments and re- ignite momentum towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030 and achieve net zero by 2050.

The joint presence of GCF and GEF in this pavilion at COP26 is a visible demonstration of our commitment to collaboration.

And the Long-term Vision we are launching today sets out a roadmap for how we will build complementarity, coherence and collaboration between our two organisations.

GCF and GEF are mobilising hubs for climate finance— pooling resources and enabling developing countries to raise their ambitions and accelerate climate action. However, there is a lot left to be done to get back on track to reach the Paris Agreement goals. Ambitious replenishments will be critical.

Strategic cooperation is needed to optimise investments and overcome barriers to capital flows. But we also need to lay the solid groundwork to chart our way towards this massive transition to low emission, climate-resilient economies.

As a joint product of the two Secretariats, the long-term vision (or LTV) sets out how the two funds can work together, given the complementary missions of each institution, and building on our comparative advantages, with GEF piloting innovative initiates, and GCF bringing scale and blended finance.

As sister Funds under the UNFCCC, GCF and GEF are committed to the goal of the Convention and the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

In particular, the LTV responds to the COP guidance that calls for strengthened complementarity and coherence between the two operating entities of the financial mechanism.

The LTV aims to enhance the planning, implementation, and outcomes of the GCF and GEF investments in alignment with our respective strategic investment plans over the current and future programming cycles.

It establishes a model to foster stronger coordination and synergy between the climate funds, providing predictability that will benefit countries as they plan engagement with both institutions to finance their climate and environmental action agendas.

The LTV received overwhelmingly positive responses from both the GCF Board and GEF Council. And we have already established an LTV Steering Committee to support its implementation.

Advancing and operationalising the LTV will be grounded on three principles:

• First, promoting collaborative and coordinated programming. The two funds will seek to collaborate on major programmes, such as the Great Green Wall initiative, that can generate significant synergy. Furthermore, the LTV will facilitate national investment planning, streamline projects and programs, and support establishing and deploying collaborating financing platforms.
• Second, LTV will facilitate exchanges of information, lessons learned, and knowledge generated by the two Funds. We will review and apply these lessons learned from our respective portfolios in the context of project monitoring, indicators, and other relevant aspects of project implementation.
• Finally, through LTV, the two Secretariats will develop a coordinated approach towards joint communication and outreach by incorporating the LTV elements within the strategic documents that will inform, for instance, GEF-8 programming direction and GCF-1. At the same time, the two Secretariats will strengthen outreach collaboration.

The LTV also aligns to the recent call of the UN Secretary General for a stronger, more networked, and inclusive multilateral system, anchored within the United Nations. GCF and GEF are well-positioned to support scaling up investments for mitigation and adaptation in developing countries—providing direct and catalytic roles in meeting priority climate results.

Ladies and gentlemen, we must make unity the norm within the climate finance landscape. This LTV is an expression of our shared vision for coordinated action on environment and climate, and to stronger collaboration on climate finance.

Thank you.

See the full text of the Long-Term Vision on Complementarity, Coherence and Collaboration between GCF and GEF here.