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Green Climate Fund
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Background
At COP 16, Parties, in  decision
1/CP.16 established a Green Climate Fund (GCF) as an
operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention under Article 11. The GCF will support
projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing country Parties. The Fund will be
governed by the GCF Board.
The assets of the GCF will be administered by a trustee only for the purpose of, and in accordance
with, the relevant decisions of the GCF Board. The World Bank was invited by the COP to serve as the
interim trustee of the GCF, subject to a review three years after operationalization of the Fund. The
COP also decided that an independent secretariat will support the operations of the Fund. The COP also
decided that the GCF was to be designed by the Transitional Committee
(TC).
Update
At COP 17 held in Durban, the COP adopted decision 3/CP.17, in which
Parties welcomed the report of the TC (
FCCC/CP/2011/6 and Add.1) and approved the governing instrument for the
GCF.
Parties, at COP 18, endorsed the consensus decision of the GCF Board to select Songdo, Incheon,
Republic of Korea as the host of the GCF.
At COP 19, Parties welcomed the establishment of the independent GCF secretariat and the selection of
the Executive Director of the GCF by the GCF Board. Furthermore, Parties provided initial guidance to
the GCF.
COP 19 also stressed the need to achieve full operationalization of the GCF,a dn urged the Board to
finalize as soon as possible the essential requirements to receive, manage, programme, and disburse
financial resources, so that the GCF can commence its initial resources mobilization process as soon as
possible and transition subsequently to a formal replenishment process.
Parties called for ambitious and timely contributions by developed countries to enable an effective
operationalization, including for readiness and preparatory support of the GCF, that reflects the
needs and challenges of developing countries in addressing climate change in the context of preparing,
by COP 20, the initial resources mobilization process. Furthermore, Parties underlined that the initial
resource mobilization should reach a very significant scale, and invited financial inputs from a
variety of other sources, public and private, including alternative sources.
The Board was also requested to:
- Consider important lessons learned on country-driven processes from other existing fund;
- Ensure that in its consideration and finalization of the GCF’s access modalities, the Board
takes into account the institutions already accredited by relevant institutions covered by the
Board’s agreement on the best practice fiduciary standards and principles and environmental and
social standards; and
- Report to COP 20 on progress made in the implementation of this decision, as well as the
implementation of decision 6/CP.18
Furthermore, in decision
9/CP.19, the entities financing the activities referred to in decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 70,
through the wide variety of sources referred to in decision 2/CP.17, paragraph 65, including the GCF in
a key role, were encouraged to collectively channel adequate and predictable results-based finance in a
fair and balanced manner, taking into account different policy approaches, while working with a view to
increasing the number of countries that are in a position to obtain and receive payments for
results-based actions. Said entities were also encouraged, when providing results-based finance, to
apply the methodological guidance consistent with decisions 4/CP.15, 1/CP.16, 2/CP.17, 12/CP.17 and
11/CP.19 to 15/CP.19, in order to improve the effectiveness and coordination of results-based finance.
Furthermore, said entities financing the activities referred to in decision 1/CP.16, paragraph 70,
through the wide variety of sources referred to in decision 2/CP.17, paragraph 65, were encouraged to
continue to provide financial resources to alternative policy approaches, such as joint mitigation and
adaptation approaches for the integral and sustainable management of forests.
The GCF was also requested, when providing results-based finance, to apply the methodological guidance
consistent with decisions 4/CP.15, 1/CP.16, 2/CP.17, 12/CP.17 and 11/CP.19 to 15/CP.19, in order to
improve the effectiveness and coordination of results-based finance.
Arrangements between the Conference of the Parties and the Green Climate Fund
At COP 18 held in Doha, Parties recognized that the provisions contained in Article 11, paragraph 3,
and decision 3/CP.17 and the governing instrument of the GCF contained in the annex to 3/CP.17 form the basis for the
arrangements between the COP and the GCF. The COP requested the Standing
Committee on Finance and the GCF Board to develop arrangements between the COP and the GCF for
agreement by the Board and subsequent agreement by COP 19.
At COP 19, Parties agreed to the arrangements between the COP and
the GCF to ensure that the GCF is accountable to and functions under the guidance of the COP to
support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing country Parties using
thematic funding windows, which were approved by the GCF Board at its fifth meeting.
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