BUILDING COUNTRY CAPACITY TO ACCESS AND MANAGE CLIMATE FUNDS

THE PROBLEM

Developing countries will soon have at their disposal a significant new form of finance to help them respond to the challenges of climate change following the approval of the Governing Instrument for the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at COP17 in Durban in 2011. The GCF’s Governing Instrument states that “The Fund will play a key role in channeling new, additional, adequate and predictable financial resources to developing countries and will catalyze climate finance, both public and private, and at the international and national levels”.
However, experience so far shows that most potential beneficiary countries are not yet ready for an increased influx of climate funding. Institutional capacities need to be developed to oversee funds implementation, and a pipeline of projects needs to be prepared involving both public and private actors. The Governing Instrument makes specific reference to the need to assist developing countries in building their capacities for direct access and to provide special support to Least Developed Countries and Small Island States in building capacity to engage the private sector.

THE SOLUTION

UNEP is setting up a GCF Investment Readiness Programme to help countries prepare to implement the GCF both institutionally and in terms of private sector engagement. Assistance will comprise of helping to build and strengthen the institutional capacity of national governments and designated public finance institutions. The programme will also provide support for the development of climate change adaptation and mitigation programmes and projects of a transformative nature aligned with national climate change strategies. Two important aspects of the GCF, direct access and private sector engagement, will be highlighted by UNEP as they both involve significant readiness support before becoming functionally operational.
By building their capacity to access, implement and monitor scaled-up levels of investment, beneficiary countries will increase their resilience to climate change and be better prepared to make the transition to low carbon economies.

THE IMPACTS

The programme will accelerate adaptation, REDD+ and mitigation actions in target countries by strengthening national frameworks for climate change action, facilitating GCF accreditation of designated national public finances and by supporting the development of mitigation and adaptation programmes of a transformative nature to be supported by international climate finance.
Some of the specific target impacts include: nationallevel systems and processes for direct access; robust accountability and reporting systems; concrete project proposals; and the development of specific new financial products and programmes. By building capacity to access, implement and monitor scaled-up levels of investment, beneficiary countries will increase their resilience to climate change and be better prepared to make the transition to low carbon economies.

SUPPORT

Government of Germany

SUCCESS STORY

In 2011 the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management and UNEP set up the Collaborating Centre for Climate & Sustainable Energy Finance. Funded by the German Government, the Centre is designed to support the transformation to resilient low-carbon and resourceefficient economies by mobilizing investment and strengthening associated markets. The Centre works with key actors in finance, government and industry, to help prepare countries for increased investment in sustainable energy and climate change mitigation and adaptation. The Centre identifies and multiplies good practice in sustainable energy and climate finance and serves as UNEP’s main knowledge hub for sustainable energy and climate finance. www.fs-unep-centre.org

Source: Re-blogged from http://www.unep.org

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