OACPS – Support to the Secretariat of the Organisation of African, Caribbean and Pacific States to become a delivery partner for the Green Climate Fund
Recent droughts, floods and hurricanes in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific have caused loss of lives and extensive damage to property, infrastructure, food systems and livelihoods. And the worst is expected to come or is predicted: the devastation related to climate variability and change is expected to occur at greater scales, frequencies and intensities.
In 2018, the Intra-ACP GCCA+ Programme, through its Climate Support Facility (CSF), conducted a comparative analysis of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to address climate change in all 79 members of the OACPS. The study analysed, among other issues, the support needs expressed in NDCs, such as financial resources, capacity building and technology transfer.
According to the findings of the study, the financial requirements in the first OACPS NDCs were estimated at USD 2 317 billion. Of this: 98 % of financial needs were in Africa, approximately 1.9 % in the Caribbean and 0.1 % in the Pacific region.
In their Nairobi Nguvu ya Pamoja Declaration (December 2019), ACP Heads of State and Government recognised their countries’ vulnerability to economic, social and security impacts of climate-related disasters; and stressed the need for additional financial support, technology transfer and capacity-building for their adaptation and mitigation actions. The Declaration further reiterated the OACPS’ commitment to the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and its Paris Agreement and acknowledged the influence of environment and climate change challenges and impacts on the sustainable development efforts of Members of the OACPS. Furthermore, ACP Heads of State and Government committed to strengthening the capacity of its Members and regions to access additional financial resources from the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the Adaptation Fund, the Global Environment Facility, the Special Climate Change Fund, and the Least Developed Countries Fund, and called for urgent simplification of conditions to access to these resources.
In this context, the OACPS Secretariat approached the Intra-ACP GCCA+ Climate Support Facility (CSF) to receive technical assistance to become a Readiness Delivery Partner to GCF, working together with its Member States to strengthen their capacity to access the much-needed climate finance. This should contribute to the implementation of the OACPS NDCs and National Adaptation Plans, among other climate related policies and actions at the national and intra-OACPS levels.
The technical assistance allowed OACPS to undertake the Financial Management Capacity Assessment for the GCF and enhance capacity building activities for its Member States. This has prepared them to develop a robust pipeline of bankable projects and to access the GCF readiness programme in order to implement their NDCs. Comoros and Mauritius were part of the first pilot countries to receive support to access the GCF Readiness programme to receive climate finance.
