Introduction

The contribution of countries to climate change, and their capacity to prevent and cope with its consequences, vary enormously. The Convention and the Protocol therefore foresee financial assistance from Parties with more resources to those less endowed and more vulnerable. Developed country Parties (Annex II Parties) shall provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties in implementing the Convention. To facilitate this, the Convention established a Financial Mechanism to provide funds to developing country Parties.

The Convention, under its Article 11, states that the operation of the Financial Mechanism is entrusted to one or more existing international entities. The operation of the Financial Mechanism is partly entrusted to the Global Environment Facility (GEF). At COP 17 Parties decided to designate the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism of the Convention, in accordance with Article 11 of the Convention. The Financial Mechanism is accountable to the COP, which decides on its climate change policies, programme priorities and eligibility criteria for funding.

The Kyoto Protocol also recognizes, under its Article 11, the need for the Financial Mechanism to fund activities by developing country Parties.

In addition to providing guidance to the GEF, Parties have established four special funds: the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), both managed by the GEF, and the GCF under the Convention; and the Adaptation Fund (AF) under the Kyoto Protocol.

At COP 16 Parties decided to establish the Standing Committee on Finance to assist the COP in exercising its functions in relation to the Financial Mechanism of the Convention.

Launched at COP 17 and extended for one year at COP 18, the work programme on long-term finance concluded its work at COP 19 in Warsaw. COP 19, in decision 3/CP.19, included activities on long-term climate finance for the period 2014-2020. These include biennial submissions by developed country Parties on their strategies and approaches for scaling up climate finance from 2014 to 2020, in-session workshops to facilitate deliberations on long-term climate finance and biennial high level ministerial dialogues on climate finance starting in 2014. More information here.

Funding to climate change actvities is also available through bilateral, regional and multilateral channels. More information on funding is available here.

Methodologies for reporting financial information by Parties included in Annex I to the Convention

The Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA), at its fortieth session, initiated its discussion on methodologies for the reporting of financial information taking into account existing international methodologies and based on the experience gained in preparing the biennial reports from developed country Parties, in accordance with decision 2/CP.17, paragraph 19. The SBSTA considered this matter at its 40th and 41st sessions.

COP 20, by decision -/CP.20, decided to extend the mandate given to the SBSTA to develop methodologies for reporting financial information by one year, with a view to recommending a decision to COP 21.

More information can be found here.