30 June 2016: During its 13th meeting, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board approved nine new projects, totaling US$256.6 million in GCF funding. The Board also adopted interim risk and investment guidelines, approved resources for national adaptation planning processes and announced a US$200 million pilot for Enhanced Direct Access.

Ahead of the meeting, GCF Board Co-Chairs Zaheer Fakir (South Africa) and Ewen McDonald (Australia) idenfitied the event’s main priorities as: approval of project proposals; accreditation of partner entities; establishment of risk guidelines for credit and investment; and assessment of the proposal pipeline and the programmatic approach to funding proposals. As of June 2016, the GCF proposal pipeline stood at US$2.4 billion. The Fund has set an aspirational US$2.5 billion approvals target for 2016.

The Board approved nine project proposals in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, and Latin America in the areas of ecosystem-based adaptation, climate resilience, coastal adaptation, renewable energy and energy efficiency. It also adopted interim risk and investment guidelines, aimed at helping to “attract proposals capable of higher leverage ratios and higher impact,” and decided to expedite support for developing countries’ national adaptation plans (NAPs).

A new US$200 million pilot phase for additional modalities to Enhanced Direct Access is expected to provide support for ten projects that aim to “strengthen countries’ decision-making authority over resources dedicated to supporting their climate change projects and programmes.”

The GCF Board also decided that Javier Manzanares, Chief Financial Officer of the GCF, will become the Executive Director ad Interim when the Fund’s inaugural Executive Director Hela Cheikhrouhou’s term expires, on 9 September 2016. Speaking at the meeting, Cheikhrouhou thanked the GCF Board and Secretariat for their support during the past three years, and called on all stakeholders to start implementation of the Paris Agreement and its nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The Board also discussed, inter alia: matters related to guidance from the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP); readiness support; accreditation and accreditation strategy; selection of the new Executive Director; and a number of matters related to funding proposals. After deliberating on the matter, it decided to defer the considation of accreditation proposals to its next meeting, requesting the Board’s Accreditation Committee to examine existing policy gaps and develop a policy for consideration by the Board.

The GCF Board met for its 13th meeting in Songdo, the Republic of Korea, from 28-30 June. For the first time, the meeting was webcast live. The proceedings remain available on demand on the GCF website. The 14th meeting of the GCF Board is expected to take place in Quito, Ecuador, from 18-20 October 2016. [GCF Press Release on Co-Chairs’ Expectations] [GCF Press Release on Meeting Outcomes] [GCF Executive Director Speech] [GCF Press Release on Direct Access Pilot] [GCF 13th Board Meeting Documents] [GCF 13th Board Meeting On Demand Videos]