The text of the following statement was released by the Governments of Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Today in Dubai, we announce contributions totaling $141.74 million[1] from six countries to the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and $32.5 million from 3 countries for the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), hosted by the Global Environment Facility (GEF). Additional countries expressed their strong political support to the two climate adaptation funds, with several in the process of securing resources for later contributions.
The commitments made in Dubai for these funds providing targeted support for the world’s most climate-exposed countries extends the trend of increasing contributions to the LDCF and SCCF, which at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh received a total of $105.6 million.
The LDCF is the only dedicated climate adaptation fund for the urgent and immediate adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries (LDCs). To date, the LDCF has approved approximately $1.8 billion in grants for projects, programs, and enabling activities for high impact adaptation projects. Under the recently approved LDCF strategy for the period 2022-2026, the LDCF will provide support across a range of sectors including agriculture, food security and health, water, climate information services, and nature-based solutions. The new funding commitments to the LDCF by donors in Dubai will help LDCs implement this new strategy for scaling up adaptation investment and advancing a whole-of-society approach for increased climate resilience.
The SCCF also plays a distinctive role addressing climate change adaptation needs in Small Island Development States (SIDS), which are among the world’s most climate-vulnerable countries and supports innovative adaptation projects through private sector engagement and technology support. Since its inception, the SCCF has provided $365 million in grants for adaptation projects. Under the new SCCF 2022-2026 Programming Strategy, one of its funding windows is now dedicated to enable SIDS to address their adaptation needs. This is the first time that a multilateral climate fund is providing targeted support for the adaptation needs of SIDS. Another SCCF funding window supports technology transfer, innovation, and private sector engagement for adaptation in all developing countries. The new commitments for the SCCF made in Dubai will help island states take action on their climate resilience needs in line with their adaptation priorities.
The following new contributions to the LDCF and SCCF will continue supporting adaptation priorities identified by recipient countries:
The following countries expressed political support to the LDCF and SCCF and the funds’ Programming Strategy, as well as the cumulative financial scenarios of $200 million USD to $400 million USD for the SCCF and $1 billion USD to $1.3 billion USD for the LDCF for the period of 2022-2026.
Some of these countries have indicated their interest to make voluntary contributions to the LDCF and/or SCCF in the near future.
Together, the participating countries recognized that LDCs and SIDS are particularly vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change and are in urgent need of targeted support for their adaptation actions, underlining the need for the Least Developed Countries Fund and Special Climate Change Fund as key components of international climate finance.
About the Global Environment Facility
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is the world’s largest funder of biodiversity protection, nature restoration, and climate change response in developing countries. It finances international environmental conventions and country-driven initiatives that generate global benefits. The GEF partnership connects 186 member governments with civil society, Indigenous Peoples, and the private sector, and works closely with other environmental financiers for efficiency and impact. To date, the GEF has provided more than $23 billion in grants and blended finance and mobilized another $129 billion in co-financing for more than 5,000 national and regional projects, which have restored and improved the management of protected areas larger than the size of Brazil.
About the Least Developed Countries Fund
The GEF-managed Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) is the only multilateral fund that focuses exclusively on the unique climate adaptation needs of Least Developed Countries. LDCF provides support in several priority areas for adaptation including agriculture, water, food, health, nature-based solutions, infrastructure, and climate information services. It builds institutional capacity for adaptation planning, scaling up finance, engaging the private sector, and adopting a whole-of-society approach for inclusive adaptation. The LDCF has financed 365 projects and programs with approximately $1.8 billion in grants. This has directly benefited more than 52 million people and strengthened the management of more than 8 million hectares of land for climate resilience.
About the Special Climate Change Fund
The GEF-managed Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) helps developing countries address the negative impacts of climate change through innovation, technology transfer, and private sector engagement. It also offers targeted support to Small Island Developing States, given their specific climate adaptation needs. The SCCF has provided $365 million in grants for 88 projects related to climate-resilient agriculture value chains, improved water management, integrated coastal management, climate risk insurance, nature-based solutions, and more. These initiatives have benefited approximately 9 million people and helped bring more than 5 million hectares of land under more sustainable management.
[1] All conversions to USD are based on exchange rates as of December 4, 2023.
