6-9 July 2015, Songdo, Korea

Summary

6-9 July 2015, the 10^th meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board was held in Songdo, Korea. 36 Board and Alternate Board members gathered along with a number of observers to discuss 32 agenda items. The meeting was the last one before the first concrete funding proposals will be presented and likely be approved before the COP21 in Paris.

Key outcomes of the meeting include:

1. Accreditation of 13 new entities, including some strongly contested by civil society organizations; GCF now has 20 entities through which it can channel resources (5 national, 5 regional and 10 international)
2. A decision was reached to enhance direct access. This includes the launch of a five year pilot phase which will provide US$200 million for ten pilots, including at least four pilots to be implemented in Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LCDs) and African States
3. The GCF will provide additional resources for two more pilot programmes; US$200 million for a pilot programmes by micro‐, small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (MSMEs), and US$500 million to mobilize resources at scale
4. The GCF Secretariat announced that it will provide US$2.5 million for readiness and support program in 9 countries, to build their capacities in preparing their strategic framework for national engagement with the Fund
5. The Board decided to further develop the monitoring and accountability framework and provide details on compliance check, non-compliance measures and local monitoring
6. A decision on country ownership recognizes that National Designated Authorities (NDAs) or focal points should facilitate country coordination and engagement with representatives of relevant stakeholders, including civil society, on the basis of best practice options adopted by the Board

The accreditation procedures of the 13 entities caused a great deal of turmoil. The decisions were taken following a closed door discussion of the Board, presumably due to the accreditation of Deutsche Bank and World Bank, institutions known as major fossil fuel funders. Several civil society organizations, including Carbon Market Watch, argued this decision failed to reflect GCF’s path towards achieving truly transformational change.

As a next step, the Board will consider funding proposals submitted by the accredited entities, and is expected to approve the first ones at the next Board meeting in November, taking place in Livingstone, Zambia. The Fund will first off consider project with lack of climate finance resources, especially projects for cities, land management and resilience of small island states. The decision on which projects will be financed through the GCF will be important because it will define what kind of fund the GCF will be and how successful it will be in promoting a paradigm shift. Hela Cheikhrouhou, Executive Director of the GCF, stated that only around US$500 million worth of projects, looked promising.

Read full report here