Decision 9/CP.23
Report of the Green Climate Fund to the Conference of the Parties and guidance to the Green Climate Fund
The Conference of the Parties,
1. Welcomes the report of the Green Climate Fund to the Conference of the Parties,1 including the list of actions taken by the Board of the Green Climate Fund (hereinafter referred to as the Board) in response to the guidance received from the Conference of the Parties;
2. Notes with appreciation the significant scaling-up of the operations of the Green Climate Fund in 2017, including:
(a) The expansion of its portfolio to include: (1) USD 41.8 million to support 130 requests in 92 countries through the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, two thirds of which are in the least developed countries, small island developing States and African States; and (2) USD 2.65 billion to support 54 projects and programmes in 73 countries;
(b) Improvements to the initial project approval process, including ongoing mandates to address policy matters related to the approval of projects;
(c) An increase in the number of accredited entities, particularly direct access entities;
(d) The availability of additional financial resources for the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme, including for the formulation of national adaptation plans and/or other national adaptation planning processes;
(e) The decision of the Board to initiate an independent review of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme;2
(f) The decision to allocate USD 500 million for a results-based payments pilot programme for activities referred to in decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 70;3
(g) The decision of the Board to develop the terms of reference for a climate technology incubator and accelerator-focused request for proposals, and the request of the Board for continued collaboration with the Technology Executive Committee and the Climate Technology Centre and Network;4
(h) The issuance of a request for proposals to the private sector for mobilizing funds at scale;
(i) The framework on complementarity and coherence and the organization of the first annual dialogue with climate finance delivery channels;
(j) The approval of the Board’s workplan for 2018;
3. Encourages the Board to ensure that the post-approval process facilitates the timely disbursement of approved funding;
4. Notes that accreditation is pending for a significant number of entities;
5. Welcomes the Board’s decision to trigger the review of the accreditation framework and its fit-for-purpose approach,5 and urges the Board to swiftly adopt and implement the revised framework with a view to simplifying and facilitating access to the Green Climate Fund, including for direct access entities and private sector actors;
6. Notes with concern the challenges in accessing financial resources for climate action in developing country Parties, especially in relation to funding for adaptation;
7. Requests the Board to ensure that all developing country Parties have access to all the financial instruments available through the Green Climate Fund, in line with the eligibility criteria referred to in the governing instrument and relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties and to ensure application of the agreed policies of the Green Climate Fund;
8. Confirms that the Green Climate Fund will finance agreed full and agreed incremental costs to enable and support enhanced action by developing countries to tackle climate change in line with the relevant provisions in the governing instrument of the Green Climate Fund;
9. Welcomes the launch of the Simplified Approval Process Pilot Scheme and urges its implementation in line with Green Climate Fund Board decision B.18/06;
10. Encourages the Board to continue improving the process to review and approve readiness and preparatory support requests, including requests for support to prepare national adaptation plans and voluntary adaptation planning processes, including timely disbursement for approved programmes;
11. Invites the Board to consider ways to improve the availability of information on accessing funding from the Green Climate Fund, as appropriate;
12. Takes note of the biennial report on the status of privileges and immunities6 and expresses concern with the low level of bilateral arrangements concluded between the Green Climate Fund and Parties;
13. Encourages Parties to enter into agreements to grant the privileges and immunities needed for the effective and efficient operationalization of the Green Climate Fund in accordance with national legislation and circumstances and Board decision B.10/12, as appropriate;
14. Also encourages the Board to intensify its efforts to ensure that the Green Climate Fund will enjoy such privileges and immunities as are necessary for the fulfilment of its purposes;
15. Decides to continue its consideration of the Board’s request as reflected in Green Climate Fund Board decision B.08/24 and the procedure agreed in decision 7/CP.20;
16. Urges the Board to ensure the continuation of trustee services and to conclude its deliberations on the selection of a trustee, including the terms of reference for the trustee, in accordance with previous decisions of the Conference of the Parties and the Board;
17. Encourages the Board to launch the first replenishment process of the Green Climate Fund in accordance with previous decisions of the Conference of the Parties and the Board;
18. Also encourages the Board to include in its annual report to the Conference of the Parties information on projects approved by the Board that support the innovation and/or scaling-up of climate technologies with a view to informing the Technology Mechanism as it undertakes further work on climate technology innovation;
19. Invites Parties to submit their views and recommendations on elements to be taken into account in developing guidance for the Board of the Green Climate Fund7 no later than 10 weeks prior to the twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties (December 2018);
20. Requests the Standing Committee on Finance to take into consideration the submissions referred to in paragraph 19 above when providing its draft guidance for the Board of the Green Climate Fund for consideration by the Conference of the Parties;
21. Also requests the Green Climate Fund to include in its annual report to the Conference of the Parties information on the steps that it has taken to implement the guidance provided in this decision.
14th plenary meeting
18 November 2017
1 FCCC/CP/2017/5 and Add.1.
2 Green Climate Fund Board decision B.15/04.
3 Green Climate Fund Board decision B.18/07.
4 Green Climate Fund Board decision B.18/03.
5 Green Climate Fund Board decision B.18/04.
6 Annex III to the report of the Green Climate Fund contained in the annex to document FCCC/CP/2017/5.
7 Views should be submitted via the submission portal at http://www4.unfccc.int/sites/submissionportal/Pages/Home.aspx.
