Nordic Climate Facility - Bangladesh, Benin, Bolivia, Cambodia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Honduras, Kenya, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Mozambique, Nepal, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Vietnam, Zambia

The main objectives of the Nordic Climate Facility (NCF) are to facilitate the exchange of technology, knowledge, know-how and innovative ideas between the Nordic countries and low-income countries with the goal of increasing capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change and to contribute to sustainable development and the reduction of poverty. NCF’s purpose and objective is also to encourage testing of concrete concepts and, especially, to facilitate partnerships.

Fast facts:

50 approved and 18 fully completed projects showcase financing mechanisms including micro financing, carbon financing, ICT revenue collection, fund raising through remittances and environmental services;
Typically, the annual direct greenhouse gas reductions are from 100 tonnes to 4,000 tonnes but much bigger reductions have been achieved in some cases.

The problem

Low-income countries are often disproportionately affected by climate change and usually lack funding opportunities to implement adaptation and mitigation measures.

The solution

NCF is based on “calls for innovative proposals” comprising specific themes related to climate change. The best proposals may receive grant co-financing amounting to between EUR 250,000 and EUR 500,000. Projects are based on local needs where additional finance is needed. NCF assesses the submitted projects based on mitigation and adaptation impacts, development benefits and innovativeness. NCF also provides additionality to existing climate financing by supporting new projects and concepts and leveraging co-financing, including 36% of private cofinancing, to the NDF grant funding. The total co-financing is approximately 45% for the whole program.

Helping the planet

The “calls for proposals” focus on adaptation to and/or mitigation of climate change. Climate change adaptation proposals may be related to issues such as rising sea levels, and threats to water and agricultural resources as well as to overall human welfare. Climate mitigation proposals can comprise efforts to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases through the use of energy efficiency technologies, substituting fossil fuels for environmentally sound renewable sources, and carbon sequestration. The climate change themes vary each year and proposals may also combine adaptation and mitigation components.

Helping people

All NCF projects are assessed based on mitigation/adaptation impacts, development benefits and innovativeness. Special emphasis is put on cross-cutting issues, including gender equality.

Scaling Up

NCF helps implement pilot projects in partnerships in two to three years in developing countries, and activities can be replicated and scaled-up as local capacity has been built in partnerships. In many cases actual businesses have been or will be developed around mitigation and adaptation benefits. In fact, replication and scaling up is already on-going based on piloted concepts. As NCF is increasingly supporting business and private sector interventions, those are likely to be sustainable and grow naturally.