The Green Climate Fund (GCF) was adopted by 194 governments as a financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Its goal is to limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries and help adapt vulnerable societies to the already-felt impacts of climate change. It aims to make an ambitious contribution to attaining the mitigation and adaptation goals of the international community with the goal of keeping the temperature increase of the planet below 2 degrees Celsius.
The Fund aims to support a paradigm shift in the global response to climate change. It allocates its resources to low-emission and climate-resilient projects and programmes in developing countries. The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States. GCF’s activities are aligned with the priorities of developing countries through the principle of country ownership, and the Fund has established a direct access modality so that national and sub-national organisations can receive funding directly, rather than only via international intermediaries.
It is designed as an operating entity of the Convention’s financial mechanism and is headquartered in the Republic of Korea. It is governed by a 24 Board member Board, representing countries, and receives guidance from the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP).
GCF and Regional Seas
- In 2020, the Green Climate Fund approved approved a UNEP Funding Proposal for the Pacific, entitled “Enhancing Climate Information and Knowledge Services for Resilience in 5 Island Countries of the Pacific Ocean,” valued at USD 47.4 million. This is UNEP’s first multi-country programmatic initiative in the GCF, and will cover the Cook Islands, Niue, Palau, the Republic of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu, countries with some of the world’s smallest and most dispersed populations surrounded by vast ocean areas.
- Other regional seas Conventions which have established close working relations and collaboration with GCF include SPREP.
Please visit their website: https://www.greenclimate.fund/
