19 November 2019
GCF Board Approves USD 407.8 Million for New Projects
story highlights

The GCF Board allocated USD 407.8 million to new projects and programmes, raising the GCF’s total portfolio to USD 5.6 billion.

Combining co-financing by the GCF’s funding partners, the newly approved projects will channel over USD 1.87 billion to reduce GHG emissions and enhance climate resilience.

Indonesia pledged USD 500,000 to the Fund’s first replenishment, now at USD 9.78 billion.

The GCF Board also accredited seven new entities, adopted an updated gender policy and action plan and a policy on co-financing, and updated Strategic Plan for the 2020-2023 programming period.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board approved a number of projects and programmes totaling USD 407.8 million towards reducing negative impacts of climate change on livelihoods, including through nature-based solutions. Indonesia pledged USD 500,000 towards the Fund’s replenishment, adding to the 27 pledges made during the GCF replenishment conference in October to expand the GCF’s financial reserves by USD 9.78 billion for the next four years.

The 24th GCF Board meeting took place from 12-14 November in Songdo, Republic of Korea. During the meeting, the GCF Board approved the following projects and programmes:

As an illustration, the BRCRN project in Nepal aims to develop infrastructure to move away from unsustainable natural resource management practices, which have resulted in forest degradation, floods and soil erosion. A UN press release notes that consequent negative effects on downstream communities in the region are exacerbated by increased droughts and extreme weather events. Nepal’s Ministry of Finance, which co-finances the USD 47 million project, identified the region as “a national priority critical to Nepal’s food security and climate change policy,” and pledged to ensure that the project “brings transformational change to grassroots communities.” The project is also designed to count towards Nepal’s mitigation ambition in its Nationally Determined Contribution (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement on climate change.

Chile’s REDD+ Results-based Payments project aims to implement the country’s National Strategy on Climate Change and Vegetation Resources that will “clear the way” for activities involving more than 57,000 people, including indigenous communities, in afforestation, forest restoration and sustainable forest management (SFM).

The GCF Board approved additional support under the Simplified Approval Process (SAP) in:

The project in Lao PDR will use nature-based solutions for ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) to reduce flooding in four cities, the first of its kind to be funded  by the GCF. UNEP recognizes this as “part of a much larger ‘paradigm shift’ in climate adaptation, from hard ‘grey’ infrastructure to integrated solutions that includes ‘green’ infrastructure.”

Combining co-financing by the GCF’s funding partners, the newly approved projects will channel over USD 1.87 billion to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and enhance climate resilience. The new allocations raise the GCF’s total portfolio to USD 5.6 billion.

During the meeting, Board members also reviewed the GCF’s updated Strategic Plan for the 2020-2023 programming period, which aims to deliver more ambitious impact for developing countries, adopted an updated gender policy and gender action plan and a policy on co-financing, and accredited seven new entities, bringing the total number of GCF Accredited Entities to 95. [GCF Press Release on Approved Funding] [GCF Press Release on Opening of Board Meeting] [UN Press Release on Project in Nepal] [FAO Press Release on Projects in Chile, Kyrgyzstan and Nepal] [FAO Press Release on Project in Chile] [UNEP Press Release on Urban Resilience Project in Lao PDR] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on GCF Replenishment Conference


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