Countries must double pledges during Green Climate Fund replenishment

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) – the world’s largest multilateral fund for action on climate change – is holding its second consultation on the first replenishment in Ottawa, Canada.

In the midst of the talks, civil society has welcomed the announcements by countries including Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Norway to double their pledges in local currency in comparison to contributions made during the initial capitalisation of the Fund.

Whilst these developments are encouraging, the CSOs urge other countries to follow suit and announce their pledges imminently, starting at the upcoming UN Climate Action Summit during September in New York.

“It’s vital that wealthy countries with the highest emissions contribute to the Fund and work together with those most affected to adapt to the changing climate and mitigate its effects,” said Kiri Hanks, Climate Policy Advisor, Oxfam. “The UK, France and Germany have set the bar by doubling their pledge, sending a strong signal to others that backtracking is not ok. A meaningful replenishment would involve reaching at the very least $15 billion in pledges before the end of the year." 

In light of the urgency of the climate crisis that the international community is facing and as highlighted by new science such as contained in the recent Special Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on Climate Change and Land, it is of utmost importance that all developed countries make ambitious pledges.

They must at least double the amounts they gave during the initial resource mobilization.

In particular, those countries who have contributed less generously on either per GDP or per capita basis should go well beyond doubling in this round to do their fair share.

This can positively contribute to enhancing climate ambition, especially as countries are expected to step-up their national commitments under the Paris Agreement next year.

The report is expected to add weight to the existing science and findings from the IPCC Special Report on Global Warming of 1.5°C released last year and the IPBES Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services from earlier this year.  

“We have only a small window of opportunity to act decisively to address the climate crisis. We need to do more, do it faster and do it at a scale that transforms key sectors like energy and transport, among others,” noted Mark Lutes, WWF Climate and Energy senior advisor, global climate policy. “To do that, there must also be sufficient finance available to support the efforts of developing countries to make this transition. We call on developed countries to provide at a minimum double the contributions (in US dollars) made in the first funding round. Without this minimum level of financial support, countries will be hamstrung in responding to the climate crisis. And in the face of urgent and growing climatic disruptions, we know we cannot afford any delay.”

Every penny counts in the fight against climate change. As countries have agreed that the Fund operates in United States Dollar, as a minimum, countries must announce that they intend to at least double their contributions in this currency.  

Africa Climate Week: Accessing Finance for Climate Action

Access to finance remains critical for vulnerable African countries to take climate action.
 

Ghana, for instance, requires $22.6billion in investments to implement climate mitigation and adaptation actions.

While countries are expected to commit national resources in undertaking climate mitigation and adaptation, overcoming the climate scourge will demand huge international support to efficiently implement the nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

The NDCs are efforts each country makes to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has been established as a critical avenue to mobilize financial resources to address the challenge of climate change.

Activated in 2010, the GCF operates as the financial mechanism under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) to support the efforts in developing countries to respond to the challenge of climate change.

Support to developing countries is to facilitate limiting their greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to climate change.

So far, developed nations have pledged to provide a current target of $100billion by 2020.

The last UN Climate Conference in Katowice, Poland, did not achieve new financial commitments but urged countries to deliver on their pledges.

According to Dr. Samson Samuel Ogallah, Solidaridad Network Senior Climate Specialist for Africa, until the pledges are converted into commitments and contributions, it cannot be said that resources have been attained for climate action.

“We’ve heard countries pledge big amounts but some of the pledges are never converted into contributions which become a challenge in the implementation of real action on the ground,” he observed.

The US, for instance, pledged $3billion but managed to convert $1.5billion during the Obama administration. The other part of the fund never materialized in the Trump administration.

Other contributed funds also go through bureaucracies and approval processes with a chunk of the Fund going into consultancy services, and leaving a pittance for climate action on the grounds.

Concerned about the minimal civil society participation in the design, implementation and evaluation of climate projects, the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) and Care International held a day’s workshop on the sidelines of the Africa Climate Week, with a focus on sustainable financing for climate action.

Executive Director of PACJA, Mithika Mwenda, noted that “as representatives of the people and communities on the ground, civil society organizations are very important in any action on climate change, including finance. The Green Climate Fund must be people-driven, people-responsive fund which funds things that cannot be financed by the conventional banks like the World Bank”.

The Accra dialogue, involving 15 African countries, acknowledged the proper and broader engagement of stakeholders in GCF processes to help most African countries develop fundable proposal which can enhance resilience of vulnerable communities and bring about paradigm shift in the entire process.

“The GCF is designed to address the needs of people at the local level, involving small holder farmers, pastoralist communities, labour movement, women and the youth,” Mithika noted.

He said PACJA is undertaking extensive training and outreach to demystify the Green Climate Fund as an instrument to support agriculture, transport and other economic activities.

But Funds available through the GCF and the Global Environmental Facility (GEF), among other financial mechanisms, are currently inadequate to meet the global needs for climate solutions.

According to the African Development Bank (AfDB), African countries need $3trillion by 2030 to implement their Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets.

Regional Principal Officer of AfDB, Dr. Olufunso Somorin, said 75percent of the amount will be leveraged from the private sector.

He therefore believes CSOs have a role in brokering increased engagement of the private sector in climate financing.

“The low resourcing of GCF is a concern,” he said. “Attracting private sector investment is a long-term solution”.

Long term engagement of CSO’s towards strengthening broader societal support for transformation and increase accountability of national authorities is critical to achieve GCF paradigms of low-emissions and climate-resilient economies and societies.

By Kofi Adu Domfeh

Global Civil Society rallies to defend African Renewable Energy

Over 100 international civil society groups have launched a statement in solidarity with their African counterparts who are concerned about the role of France and the European Commission in undermining the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative.

The statement asserts that France and the European Commission abused their position as donors to rush through the endorsement of 19 projects which were not subject to the initiative's own evaluation criteria or social, environmental, and gender safeguards - against the wishes of several Africans on the AREI Board. Neither France nor the European Commission is formally a Board Member.

France and other developed country donors have pledged to provide funds to support "new and additional" renewable energy capacity, but African and international civil society groups say these promises are being broken as some already existing projects are being rebranded as AREI projects.

The first director of the Initiative's "Independent Delivery Unit" resigned in the aftermath of the Board Meeting, and on the sidelines of ongoing climate change negotiations in Bonn, Ségolène Royal  announced the nomination of a new head, Mr. Seyni Nafo of Mali.

Many in the civil society community are familiar with Mr. Nafo, have worked productively with him in the past, and look forward to engaging with him in his new role. They stress, however, that he must be set up for success by ensuring the AREI does not become donor-driven, but instead sticks to its principles of African ownership and transparent, inclusive governance.

"Decades of experience with development and climate finance shows us that letting rich countries make decisions for people living in developing countries is a surefire path to failure. The AREI is an exciting and innovative initiative exactly because it is African owned and African driven. France and the EU are to be commended for contributing to the AREI, but only if their contributions are actually new and additional money and come with no strings attached. By trying to use their status as donors to push through pet projects and take control away from Africans, they are doing far more harm than good. The AREI is too important for us to allow rich countries to get their way at the expense of African people once again," said Brandon Wu of ActionAid USA.

"Support for renewable energy in Africa was a major commitment made at the Paris Climate Summit, but now it seems that some in the French government and European Commission think this makes it OK to support projects without assessment against stringent social and environmental criteria. European governments need to ensure space for African leadership on renewable energy," said of Susann Scherbarth of Friends of the Earth Europe.

"Donor countries cannot bypass the AREI's safeguards and screening process and simply use it to rubberstamp their pre-existing projects. Doing so invalidates a crucial goal of the Initiative-- to break free from old and outdated development models, and instead give African people control of their future. The AREI is meant to do much more than just generate renewable energy, it's about making sure that the 630 million Africans that don't currently have access to electricity are able to reap the benefits that clean, reliable energy can provide. We urge the EC and others to help it succeed" said Annaka Peterson of Oxfam International.

The AREI was launched in 2015 in Paris during COP21 as an African-led initiative with the goal of providing at least 10 GW of new renewable energy to Africa's peoples by 2020, and put the continent on course to add at least another 300 GW and achieve universal access to energy for all Africans by 2030.

It was supported by $10 billion in pledges for 2015-2020 by developed countries in Paris, and has been hailed as a groundbreaking effort to bring clean, affordable, and reliable energy to millions of people in a democratic, human-rights focused approach.

Green Climate Fund must say no to partnerships with scandal-ridden banks

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) must not channel its money through two scandal-ridden international commercial banks that are leading funders of the coal industry, say civil society groups at a meeting of the GCF’s Board in Songdo, South Korea.

The groups say the GCF must reject applications for accreditation by big banks HSBC and CréditAgricole. Accredited entities are institutions approved to receive and manage GCF funds.

"The Green Climate Fund Board must reject HSBC and CréditAgricole. Creating new business for big banks with large fossil fuel portfolios and poor records on human rights and financial scandal would undermine the very purpose of the Fund,” said Karen Orenstein of Friends of the Earth U.S.

"To accredit HSBC and CréditAgricole is to short-change the vulnerable communities and the countries that the Fund is meant to directly benefit. There is no profit to be made in building the resilience of those adversely impacted by climate change. Public funds must be used to support local communities in developing countries, not to subsidize big banks,” said Sam Ogallah of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance.

The GCF’s mandate to work directly with developing country institutions is what makes it innovative, the groups say. Targeted funding will help to build skills and expertise in poor countries, allowing governments to better meet the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable people in their countries.

“Accrediting HSBC and CréditAgricole would be inconsistent with both the Paris Agreement, and with upholding high human rights standards. Any private sector partner of the GCF must have a credible strategy in place to make its entire portfolio and operations consistent with keeping global temperature rise to no more than 2°C, let alone well below 1.5 °C,” said Annaka Peterson of Oxfam.

“The accreditation of these banking giants would jeopardize the reputation of the Green Climate Fund and expose it to unnecessarily high fiduciary risk. HSBC and CréditAgricole provided US$7 billion and US$9.5 billion, respectively, to the coal industry between 2009 and 2014, and their coal financing does not show a clear downward trend. Moreover, HSBC is deeply embroiled in massive financial scandal,” said Yann Louvel of BankTrack.

A U.S. judge recently ordered the release of a report by an independent monitor overseeing the cleanup of HSBC’s massive money laundering – the report is said to be so damning that it would provide a “road map” for criminals seeking to launder money and finance terrorism.

172 NGOs released a statement calling for the rejection of HSBC and CréditAgricole by the GCF. A copy of the statement can be found here.

Appended to the statement are annexes on the fossil fuel financing trends of HSBC and CréditAgricole, both of which fail to show a clear downward trend, while their renewables financing trails far behind their fossil fuel financing.