30th Green Climate Fund Meeting Notes
30th Green Climate Fund Board
Meeting
4-7 September 2021 (Virtual meeting)
The GCF's Board Members were expected to
approve 13 Funding Proposals equivalent to USD1.2 billion and accredit 4
Accredited Entities (actually for re-accreditation), and also address various
policy gaps and governance issues.
1st Day (4 October
2021)
The first day was slow which was spent on
discussing procedural matters
The co-chair from Mexico (Jose) opened the
meeting by welcoming the new Board members and their alternates
Discussion on the Technical Sessions held a week before B30 on the Simplified Approval Process (SAP), and Climate Rationale was done without considering the evaluations made by the IEU. The co-chair responded by saying that the independent evaluation of SAP and Climate Rationale are already part of the proposed agenda. Due to some objections from a couple of Board members, the co-chairs agreed to add another agenda item related to evaluation functions
Independent Units Plans and Budgets for 2022
Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM),
Independent Integrity Unit (IIU), and the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU), to
present their work plan and budget for 2022.
Independent Redress Mechanism Unit:
l IRM total budget for 2022 proposed is USD 1.64 billion
l The IRM head also noted that the budget for travel, consultancies
and operation costs have gone down due to the virtual set-up
l The IRM's budget utilization for 2021 is also above 80%.
Independent Integrity Unit (IIU)
l a total budget of USD 2.7 billion for 2022 was proposed
l reported that they received 5 new cases in 2021, two of which
pertained to staff misconduct and three related to GCF projects;
l reported an overall decrease in reported cases compared to the
previous year.
l Initiative in 2021 centered on pivoting towards mitigation,
preventive initiatives, and proactive integrity reviews.
The Board approved the work plans and
budget of the IIU.
Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU)
l proposed a budget of USD 6.5 billion,
l reported a 9.7% increase from their 2021 budget.
l Preparing for the significant evaluation as part of the GCF's Second
Performance Review (SPR). They also identified plans for capacity building,
strengthening evaluation standards, conducting global evidence reviews on
gendered impacts and behavioral interventions
The Board approved the work plans and
budget of the IEU.
2nd Day (5 October 2021)
Executive Director Glemarec's presentation
on the Secretariat on the Capabilities to deliver the Updated Strategic Plan
(USP) for 2020-2023
l GCF plans to commit ($15 billion), implement ($13.1 billion), and
disburse ($5.1 billion) by 2023, the Secretariat expects a dramatic increase in
workload as well.
l The 290 full-time employees are facing issues of burnout due to
significant pressure. According to surveys they have conducted, work-life
balance is a top issue among GCF employees.
l There's a need for additional Secretariat capacity for much better
work results and response times.
l They estimate that around 437 full-time employees (FTEs),accompanied by efficiency reforms, are required to deliver the USP priorities. They proposed two options by which to go about this expansion:
n (1) via a phased scale up to 350 FTEs by 2023; and
n (2) via a scale up to 300 in 2022 and a review in 2023 to assess
whether the Secretariat needs more expansion
l The Executive Director considers and conceptualizes plans on
establishing a regional presence in countries and regions where the GCF
operates and provides services.
n BMs for developing countries welcomed this development, particularly
in Latin America and the Caribbean states, LDCs, and the African states.
n CSO intervention delivered by Eileen Cunningham, the Active Observer,
supported regional presence, work and life balance of staff while asserting
that the increased staff capacity should strengthen its activities in
implementing and monitoring project safeguards and activities related policies
Programme and Administrative Budget for 2022 of the GCF Secretariat.
The 4 initiatives to achieve the USP, which require increases in the budget for building full time employee capacity are:
1.
Scaling up programming for
DAEs, adaptation projects, and private sector projects and partnerships;
2.
employ a data-driven,
risk-based approach to managing finances
3.
Improving access and
effectiveness via business process reform and digitalization; and
4.
Preparing for the 2nd
replenishment process.
l The Secretariat proposed an $87.8 million administrative budget
(5.1% increase), $79.4 million Secretariat budget (5.8% increase), $4.8 million
Board budget (0.2% increase), and a $3.65 million trustee budget (2.9%
decrease).
l Secretariat budget involved an increase in staff costs
n ($2.8 million increase), anticipating that there will be 250 staff
by the third quarter of 2022.
n They also proposed an increase in budget for consultants ($1.6
million increase), arguing that this is essential to maintain GCF momentum and
avoid significant disruption to crucial functions.
n The administrative budget plans to increase 66 consultants FTEs and
20 intern FTEs.
Our CSO intervention, delivered by Erika
Lennon, Active Observer from
l CSO intervention also supported the focus on enhancing
country-drivenness and stressed that engagement should not merely be between
governments/NDAs, AEs, and the GCF but should include local communities and
indigenous peoples
Board Decisions proposed between B29 and
B30
l there were 8 decisions presented to be part of in-between meeting
decisions (BBMs). Of these, 4 were approved, and 4 were objected.
The 10th GCF Report to the COP
was circulated to the Board for approval without a Board Meeting last July 14,
2021.
The revised version, which included all
objections and comments, was circulated to the Board a few hours before Day 2
of this Board Meeting.
1. The Privileges and Immunities (P&I)
annex report has been deleted. Instead, paragraphs to explain the status of bilateral
agreements on P&I were added.
2. Text to ensure consistency with the
Updated Strategic Plan (USP) has been added
3. Text to ensure consistency with
Accredited Entities' overall portfolio with low carbon emission and climate-resilient
development pathways were added.
Matters Related to the Evaluation Functions of the GCF Board
l The Co-Chairs decided to conduct offline consultations between Day 1
and Day 2 to develop an agreeable decision text. The co-chair went back to this
agenda by showing the latest draft decision text.
l "Requests the IEU to prepare a summary of views expressed by
Board Members on each evaluation referred to in paragraph (d) so that these
views can be incorporated into Board discussions and decisions, on related
policy items."
3rd Day (6 October 2021)
The Board spent more than 4 hours discussing
the agenda item Consideration of Funding Proposals (FPs).
l 13 FPs were considered amounting to a total of USD 1.2 billion
l GCF secretariat bared that a total of 16 FPs were submitted to the
ITAP for evaluation, but 3 FPs were not endorsed.
l 13 FPs, 61% are requested by the public sector, while 39% are
private. In terms of access modality,
l the majority come from International Access Entities (IAEs) at 70%,
while only 30% are from DAEs.
l Geographically, the FPs are concentrated in the Latin America and
Caribbean Region (51%) and a few FPs targeting Asia and the Pacific, Africa,
and Eastern Europe.
l The Fund will have a total of 190 FPs amounting to USD 10 billion.
The CSOs concurred with this point in our
intervention delivered by Erika Lennon,
l adaptation projects should never be treated as investments and be debt-creating. Recipient communities should not be asked to pay for adapting to a climate crisis that they did not create.
l Many of the FPs have not disclosed any information about the
sub-projects despite what is required under the Fund's Environment and Social
Policy (ESP).
l Stakeholder engagement remains limited for some FPs who have not
ensured free, prior, and informed consent (FPIC) with indigenous peoples and
local communities.
l Some of the FPs came up with a computation about target
beneficiaries when they had yet to identify the location of their sub-projects.
FP169: Climate change adaptation solutions for Local Authorities in the Federated States of Micronesia
Country: Federated States of Micronesia
AE: The Pacific Community (SPC)
Total Project Cost: USD 19.7 million
GCF Financing: USD 16.6 million (grant)
Co-financing from Government of FSM: USD
2.9 million (in-kind)
Co-financing from SPC: USD 202,510 (in-kind)
APPROVED
FP170 Enhancing Climate Resilience in
Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture
Country: Thailand
AE: UNDP
Total Project Cost: USD 33.9 million
GCF Financing: USD 17.5 million (grant)
Co-financing from MOAC Royal Irrigation
Department: USD 16.2 million (grant and in-kind)
Co-financing from Krungsri Bank: USD
114,000 (in-kind)
DEFERRED (approved on the last day)
FP171 Enhancing Early Warning Systems to
build greater resilience to hydro-meteorological hazards in Timor-Leste
Country: Timor-Leste; AE: UNEP
Total Project Cost: USD 21.7 million
GCF Financing: 21 million (grant)
Co-financing from the government of Timor
Leste: USD 0.75 million (in-kind)
APPROVED
FP172 Mitigating GHG emission through
modern, efficient, and climate-friendly clean cooking solutions (CCS)
Country: Nepal; AE: AEPC
Total Project Cost: USD 49.1 million
GCF Financing: 21.1 million (grant)
Co-financing from AEPC: USD 21 million
(grant)
Co-financing from Local Governments: USD 7
million (grant)
APPROVED
FP173 The Amazon Bioeconomy Fund: Unlocking
private capital by valuing bioeconomy products and services with climate
mitigation and adaptation results in the Amazon
Country: Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana,
Peru, Suriname
AE: IDB
Total Project Cost: USD 589.1 million
GCF Financing: 279 million (USD 137.5
million grant, UUSD 135 million loans, USD 6.5 million equity)
Co-financing from IDB: USD 14 million (grant), USD 155 million (loan), USD 145 million (guarantee), USD 4 million (equity) and USD 1.4 million (in kind)
APPROVED
FP174 Ecosystem-based Adaptation to increase
climate resilience in the Central American Dry Corridor and the Arid Zones of
the Dominican Republic
Country: Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama
AE: CABEI
Total Project Cost: USD 268.3 million
GCF Financing: 174.3 million (USD 84.3
grant, USD 60million loan, USD 30 million guarantee
Co-financing from CABEI: USD 42.8 million
(loan)
Co-financing from countries: USD 51.2
million (in-kind)
DEFERRED for further consultations with BM
from China (approved on the last day)
FP175 Enhancing community resilience and
water security in the Upper Athi River Catchment Area, Kenya
Country: Kenya
AE: National Environment Management
Authority (NEMA) –
Total Project Cost: USD 10 million
GCF Financing: 9.5 million (grant)
Co-financing from NEMA: USD 0.24 million
(in-kind)
Co-financing from WRA: USD 0.22 million
(in-kind)
Co-financing from KMD: USD 0.01 million
(in-kind)
APPROVED
FP176 Hydro-agricultural development with innovative
agriculture practices resilient to climate change in Niger
Country: Niger; AE: BOAD
Total Project Cost: EUR 45.5 million
GCF Financing: EUR 30.1 million (EUR 24.2
million grant, EUR 5.9 million loans)
Co-financing from Government of Niger: EUR
6.2 million (tax exemptions)
Co-financing from BOAD: EUR 9.2 million
(loan)
APPROVED
FP177 Cooling Facility
Country: Bangladesh, El Salvador, Kenya,
Malawi, North Macedonia, Panama, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Sri Lanka
(listed as target countries)
AE: World Bank
Total Project Cost: USD 879.84 million
GCF Financing: USD 157 million (USD 32 million
grant, USD 125 million loans)
CO-financing from WB: USD 563.4 million
loan, USD 50million guarantee, USD 80.5 million grant
Co-financing from Global Financing
Facility: USD25 million grant
Co-financing from health Emergency
Preparedness and Response Trust Fund: USD 3 million grant
Co-financing from Pandemic Emergency
Facility: UUSD 0.94. million (Grant)
DEFERRED (approved on the last day)
FP178 Desert to Power G5 Sahel Facility
Country: Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali,
Mauritania, Niger
AE: AfDB, Total Project Cost: USD 966.7 million
GCF Financing: USD 150 million (USD 82
million loans, USD 40 million reimbursable grants, USD 20 million guarantees, USD 8 million
grants)
Co-financing from AfDB and private sector):
USD 816.7 million
APPROVED
FP179 Tanzania Agriculture Climate
Adaptation Technology Deployment Programme (TACATDP)
Country: Tanzania; AE: CRDB Bank PLC
Total Project Cost: USD 200 million
GCF Financing: USD 100 million (USD 70
million senior loans, USD 10 million guarantees, USD 20 million grants)
Co-financing from CRDB: USD 100 million
(senior loans)
APPROVED
FP180 Global Fund for Coral Reefs Investment Window
Country: Comoros, Mozambique, Belize,
Brazil, Guatemala, Mexico, Panama, Seychelles, Philippines (other countries
listed but haven't signed NOLs)
AE: Pegasus
Total Project Cost: USD 500 million
GCF Financing: USD 125 million junior
equity
Co-financing from Pegasus: USD 375 million
+ 1% GP commitment inn Senior loans
DEFERRED (approved on the last day)
FP181 CRAFT - Catalytic Capital for First
Private Investment Fund for Adaptation Technologies in Developing Countries
Country: Bahamas, Brazil, Colombia, India,
Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Rwanda, South Africa, Trinidad and Tobago
AE: Pegasus
Total project cost: USD 400 million
GCF Financing: USD 100 million (junior
equity)
Co-financing from Pegasus: USD 300 million
(USD 262.1 senior equity, USD 21.15 million equity, USD 16.8 million equity)
APPROVED
4th Day (7 October 2021)
Consideration of Funding Proposals pending
their approval was quickly approved, and the summary of discussions per FP is
below:
FP170 Enhancing Climate Resilience in Thailand through Effective Water Management and Sustainable Agriculture
Country: Thailand; AE: UNDP
Total Project Cost: USD 33.9 million
GCF Financing: USD 17.5 million (grant)
Co-financing from MOAC Royal Irrigation
Department: USD 16.2 million (grant and in-kind)
Co-financing from Krungsri Bank: USD
114,000 (in-kind)
APPROVED
FP174 Ecosystem-based Adaptation to
increase climate resilience in the Central American Dry Corridor and the Arid
Zones of the Dominican Republic
APPROVED
FP177 Cooling Facility
APPROVED
FP180 Global Fund for Coral Reefs
Investment Window
APPROVED
The Board also approved the deadline
extension of SAP018 Enhancing Climate Information Systems for Resilient
Development in Liberia from 2021 to 6 February 2022.
Consideration of Accreditation Proposals
l No new applicants were presented; only 4 entities seeking
re-accreditation were subject to Board approval
Status of GCF Accreditation Applications:
l a total of 125 entities are currently in the GCF Accreditation
Pipeline seeking accreditation
l 2021 is the first batch or stage or re-accreditation with 2 already
re-accredited last B29 and 4 this B30
l 23 entities are due for re-accreditation by the end of 2022 where 9
are National DAEs, 6 are Regional DAEs, and 8 are IAEs
l The Digital Accreditation Platform (DAP) is operational for accreditation applications as well as re-accreditation applications.
l Efforts such as workshops and modules are given to AEs and NDAs on how to perform their roles effectively throughout the accreditation process and as an entity
CSO intervention delivered by Erika Lennon
l raised concerns on the procedural weakness of the re-accreditation
process, such as lapses and lack of public transparency on monitoring and
reporting of the re-applying AEs.
l We called upon the GCF Board and the Secretariat to prevent the 23
AEs from opting out of the fossil fuel portfolio assessment.
l Asked for the full disclosure and streamlining baseline settings,
citing the inclusion of all financial instruments and activities that the AEs
have operationalized since their accreditation in the GCF.
l The question on the effectiveness and accessibility of grievance
mechanisms for potentially impacted people and the disadvantages that
applicants with less capacity encounter in the entire accreditation and
re-accreditation processes.
Board moved to approve the re-accreditation
application.
l Of the 4 applicants, only one was not approved
RAPL008: Environmental Investment Fund (EIF)
Type: DAE; Country: Namibia; Size: Micro
ESS Risk Category: Low (Category C/I-3)
RE-ACCREDITED without changes to
accreditation type
RAPL024: Development Bank of Southern
Africa (DBSA)
Type: DAE; Country: South Africa; Size:
Large
ESS Risk Category: High (Category A/I-1)
RE-ACCREDITATION SUSPENDED
RAPL031: International Union for
Conservation of Nature (IUCN)
Type: IAE; Country: Switzerland
(Headquarters); Size: Medium
ESS Risk Category: Medium (Category B/I-2)
RE-ACCREDITED without changes to
accreditation type
RAPL007: United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP)
Type: IAE; Country: United States of
America (Headquarters)
Size: Medium; ESS Risk Category: Medium
(Category B/I-2)
RE-ACCREDITED with minor changes for it to
be allowed to award grants and be eligible for projects with funding allocation
mechanisms.
For simplification, the IEU suggests the
following:
l Simplify documentation requirements
l Better define key GCF concepts such as climate rationale
For acceleration, the IEU suggests the
following:
l Develop and enforce transparent and predictable standards for every
step of the SAP process
l Provide one set of consolidated comments for each concept note and
proposal
l Develop key performance indices (KPIs) for the GCF Secretariat that
incentivizes processing of projects through SAP
l Focus on developing processes for post-approval stages
Proposed SAP (Simplified Approval Process
of proposals) update:
l SAP projects were initially capped at USD 10 Million and are now
proposed to be capped at USD 20 to 50 Million
l The final cap amount is subject to the final decision of the Board.
l SAP projects may now be approved through decisions in-between Board
Meetings (BBMs) with
l An option to make SAP concept notes voluntary
l An option to allow SAP projects to be Category B in Environmental
and Social Safeguards (ESS) Risks Level
CSO intervention delivered by Eileen
Cunningham (Developing country Active Observer)
l that SAP projects should not be categorized as Category B.
l An increase in the number of SAP projects must be grounded in
keeping the eligibility of the projects within Category C ESS risks.
l Those concept notes should continue to be optional, and the
development of SAP proposal templates should involve consultations with NDAs,
CSOs, Indigenous Peoples, and Communities.
l SAP projects that are to be approved in-between Board Meetings
(BBMs) following a no-objection basis should also have clear guidelines that
include stakeholders' participation.
The Board agreed to ensure
that CSOs and AO participation shall be strictly observed during SAP approvals
done in BBMs
The BM from Korea expressed that the efforts in revising the GCF's salary structure by comparing it with ADB and World Bank salary structures should eventually lead to the development of a GCF's salary structure
The Tenth Report of the GCF to the Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC, as part of the Board Decisions in between B29 and B30, was also adopted
Other agenda items, such as the Dates and
Venues of future Board meetings, were also not discussed. However, below are
the proposed dates for the upcoming Board meetings…
31st Board Meeting: 13-16
December 2021, Luxemburg (a net-meeting), or 7-10 February 2022, Albania (an
in-person meeting)
32nd Board Meeting: 28-31 March
or 9-12 May 2022 (TBD venue)
33rd Board Meeting: 27-30 June
2022
34th Board Meeting: 24-27 October
2022
You can watch the 30th Board
meeting recordings below:
https://www.greenclimate.fund/boardroom/meeting/b30#videos
Prepared by Abraham Sumalinog
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