The replenishment of USD 9.8 billion aims to lend momentum for innovating, accelerating and scaling up climate finance, rapidly increasing the flow of investment to the most vulnerable.
Shinjiro Koizumi, Japan's Minister of the Environment, called on the GCF to take the lead in investing in technological climate initiatives undertaken by youth.
Barbara Buchner, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI), said investment in the fossil fuel supply chain receives more than three times the investments in clean energy.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) presented its first replenishment (GCF-1) during a high-level event on the sidelines of the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference in Madrid, Spain. The replenishment of USD 9.8 billion aims to lend momentum for innovating, accelerating and scaling up climate finance, rapidly increasing the flow of investment to the most vulnerable.
Discussions at the event marking the replenishment, which took place on 11 December 2019, highlighted that the replenishment that will help ensure the delivery of catalytic projects that support a transformative shift towards climate action. Shinjiro Koizumi, Minister of the Environment, Japan, called on the GCF to take the lead on investing in technological climate initiatives undertaken by youth. He said Japan will be willing to invest in a green bond if the GCF issues one.
The fossil fuel supply chain receives investments of more than three times the investments in clean energy.
Barbara Buchner, Climate Policy Initiative (CPI) Executive Director, said that, climate finance reached the half-trillion dollar mark in 2017-2018, although this still falls short of what is necessary to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change. She lamented that the fossil fuel supply chain receives investments of more than three times the investments in clean energy.
Fabiola Martha Muñoz Dodero, Peru’s Minister of Environment, highlighted that high bank loan interest rates constrain communities, particularly forest people and small-scale farmers, from a profitable and sustainable use of land resources. Yeshey Penjor, Bhutan’s Minister of Agriculture and Forests, said climate change threatens food and health indices, among others.
Simon Stiell, Grenada’s Minister of Climate Resilience, the Environment, Forestry, Fisheries, Disaster Management and Information, pointed to Saint Georges as the first climate-resilient city, noting that it requires support to meet its USD 500 million per year goal.
Speakers also: called for partnerships with pension funds and the insurance industry to finance climate action; emphasized the role of multilateral development banks (MDBs) in the climate discourse and the need for alignment across MDBs with respect to Paris Agreement implementation; called for reviewing access to funding procedures, and for increased adaptation financing from donors. [IISD Side Event Coverage] [GCF at COP 25 Website]