28 June 2014: During meetings of the Climate Investment Funds (CIF) Trust Fund Committees and Sub-Committees, decisions were taken inviting 14 developing countries to join the Scaling Up Renewable Energy in Low Income Countries Program (SREP) and an additional country to participate in the Clean Technology Fund (CTF), expanding the total number of CIF countries to 63.

The meetings convened from 25-28 June 2014, in Montego Bay, Jamaica, immediately following the 2014 CIF Partnership Forum.

As a result of the decisions taken, Libya will participate in the CTF’s Middle East and North Africa (MENA) regional programme. The 14 new SREP countries are Bangladesh, Benin, Cambodia, Ghana, Haiti, Kiribati, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Uganda and Zambia, bringing the total number of SREP pilot countries to 27. During the meetings, Armenia and Solomon Islands presented their SREP Investment Plans, which were endorsed for US$40 million and US$14 million, respectively. Armenia aims to reach 21% renewable energy generation by 2020, while the SREP will, inter alia, help Solomon Islands stimulate investment in 60 renewable energy mini-grids in rural communities. Nigeria’s revised US$250 million CTF Investment Plan was also endorsed.

Under the CTF, the second phase of the Dedicated Private Sector Programs was endorsed for US$330 million. The Programs will support innovative financing mechanisms to further engage the private sector on clean energy-related programs.

Under the Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR), endorsed Bolivian and Cambodian projects will address climate resilience in agriculture, rainwater harvesting, drip irrigation and microfinance for smallholder farmers.

Under the Forest Investment Program (FIP), the program framework for the Dedicated Grant Mechanism for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities (DGM) was endorsed, with US$4.72 million going to the mechanism’s global component and US$6.5 million to Brazil’s DGM country program.

A risk management framework of CIF Gender Action Plan was also approved, which aims to improve the responsiveness of CIF programs and projects to the varying needs and interests of both women and men.

The CIF provides developing and middle income countries with resources to mitigate and adapt to climate change and, since 2008, has championed innovative country-led investments in clean technology, renewable energy, sustainable management of forests and climate-resilient development. [CIF Press Release] [CIF Homepage] [SREP Website]