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Hosted by the Presidency of the UN General Assembly, this two day event at the UN Headquarters in New York on June 29-30 brought together the key players in the field of international climate change politics. The actor and environmental activist Robert Redford addressed the plenary with a warning saying that taking action on climate change now is not only mankind’s only change but also the last chance. UN General Secretary Ban-Ki Moon who called the UNFCCC negotiations process “a snail track” urged negotiating parties to speed up the pace and efforts to reach a meaningful universal agreement at the COP 21 in Paris. GEF CEO Naoko Ishii in her intervention presented not only an immediate but also a longer term perspective by saying that “We should all aim high for Paris, but even more importantly, for what comes next. Paris is the milestone but the journey is just beginning. We will be there with all of you for the long haul”.
She explained how the GEF is preparing to support the ambitious agreement and associated commitments that are expected to emerge from COP21, and described how the mobilization of all relevant stakeholders plays a central role in the delivery of climate financing. Joined at this session on “Mobilizing stakeholders for ambitious actions on mitigation, adaptation and means of implementation” was Ishii by key players in Climate Finance such as the Vice President of the World Bank Group Rachel Kyte, the Executive Secretary of UNCCD, Monique Barbut, and Hela Cheikhrouhou, the Executive Director of the Green Climate Fund for example, to discuss the complex reality and the needs of the international climate change community to deliver results.
Ishii made the case that with the largest batch of projects and programs in the history of the GEF - a record-breaking work program amounting to $709 million with additional $4.81 billion in co-financing, the GEF investments will strengthen the GEF ability to tackle global environmental challenges in a more integrated manner, and anchored on a diversified stakeholder platform.
She particularly went into the specifics of the three new flagship programs of the GEF addressing some of the most important key drivers of climate change and environment degradation on Urban Sustainability, Food Security and Commodities related to Deforestation.
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Robert Redford at the UN High Level Event on Climate Change, New York 29 June 2015
Ishii also talked about the rapidly growing work with the private sector. The example she gave was the project to promote renewable energy by small and independent power producers in South Africa, implemented by a newly accredited agency of the GEF, the DBSA. A first of its kind in the country, the project brings together key innovations, such as a debt fund, a GEF-funded equity fund, and a securitization platform, all of which helps share risk among the partners.
She said that these and other 33 programs and projects just approved by the GEF council recently illustrate the paramount role of stakeholder mobilization in delivering on the impacts the GEF has on climate mitigation and adaptation – by bringing together a vast array of partners and stakeholders – including 57 countries, 12 GEF agencies and more than 50 other partners and stakeholders.
Another key emerging player Ishii talked about was the Green Climate and showed that the GEF is exploring complementary roles that can enhance impacts and leverage more resources across the portfolios of the GCF, GEF and other climate finance mechanisms. Emphasis will be given to the demonstration of innovative approaches in climate change mitigation, with a view to unlock markets or enable partners to conduct large-scale replication; building multi-stakeholder alliances to develop, harmonize, and implement sustainable practices; and on promoting integrated programs that build on the multiple dimensions of the global environment. She said that “From the top leadership to the level of technical staff, we have been in constant communication with the GCF on a wide range of topics, from mitigation and adaptation strategies to the accreditation of agencies and safeguards. In this regard, GEF’s experiences to date can be useful to help articulate and enhance complementarity between the operating entities of the Financial Mechanism for the benefit of developing countries.”
Ishii also highlighted GEF’s direct support to a successful outcome of the negotiations at country level: While “On the Road to Paris” countries are expected to announce their “Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)” which refers to the contribution to climate actions by countries considering their national circumstance to achieve the 2°C goal. The GEF has been helping countries initiate or intensify domestic preparations for their INDCs through support for individual INDC preparation, a Global Support Program, and participation in regional technical dialogues on INDCs.
Last but not least she emphasized that one of the GEF’s top priorities is to continue supporting Least Developed Countries and Small Island Developing States and to continue developing GEF work on climate change adaptation building on the vast experience accumulated through the LDCF and SCCF portfolios. Since 2006 these funds have provided US$1.3 billion in grants to more than 300 adaptation projects and programs in 128 countries. 80 per cent of these resources targeted LDCs and SIDS, and the demand does not cease to grow. However, she said, a pipeline of $400 million in approved projects remains unfunded but could be readily unlocked with additional contributions on the road to Paris.
