Progress on climate finance remains slow with insuficient funds and delay in implementation
Governments have so far pledged more than US $10 billion to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), according to latest updates. An amount of $9.9 billion of the total pledged amount has now been converted into signed agreements and arrangements, representing more than 96 per cent of the pledged total.
The GCF Board will consider eight new public sector proposals amounting to a total request for investment of US $208 million in its June meeting. Of the eight, five will increase the capacity of countries to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change, two are aimed at lowering emissions growth, and one proposal will support both objectives of adapting and reducing emissions.
GCF’s pipeline has received 41 proposals till date. They amount to funding requests worth $2.4 billion.
The Clean Technology Fund (CTF) is falling short of resources. The April CTF semi-annual operational report confirmed that by end of 2015 $4.5 billion (out of $5.6 billion in total pledges), had been committed to 92 projects and programmes. This leaves $709 million available to commit, with a potential addition of $264 million, which includes an expected further contribution from the US.
CTF is a funding window of the Climate Investment Fund (CIF), an international finance mechanism which is providing 72 developing and middle income countries with resources to manage the challenges of climate change and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Pilot Program for Climate Resilience (PPCR) has called for urgent donations in order to be able to finance projects that are pending approval. By the end of 2015, PPCR funding requirements exceeded resources available to support PPCR programming by $17.6 million. PPCR provides two kinds of support: technical assistance to allow developing countries to integrate climate resilience into national and sectoral development plans, resulting in a Strategic Program for Climate Resilience (SPCR); and second, funding for the implementation of this programme.
A May report of the Forest Investment Program (FIP) indicated that countries must “actively seek resources from other bilateral or multilateral sources beyond what is available in the FIP”. As of end 2015, the FIP had $10.7 million available, with a $32 million surplus in loans, but a $21.3 million shortfall in grants. The FIP is a financing instrument aimed at assisting countries to reach their goals under the reducing emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD+) initiative.
There are concerns about delays in implementing investment plans under the Scaling Up Renewable Energy Program (SREP), according to The Bretton Woods Project’s Climate Investment Funds Monitor 13. SREP also does not have sufficient resources to finance all the new pilot countries’ investment plans. As of end December 2015, $787 million had been pledged to SREP. A total of $716.2 million had been allocated to 59 projects and programmes and $92.4 million for seven projects and programmes under the SREP private sector set-aside. Out of the allocated funds $225.8 million had been approved for 21 projects and programmes. SREP was launched in 2009 and aims to catalyse scaled up investment in renewable energy markets in low-income countries.
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