Since 2013, the Climate Finance Advisory Service (CFAS) offers negotiators, policy makers and advisors in the poorest and most climate vulnerable countries bespoke infor- mation and guidance to help them effectively participate in complex global climate finance negotiations. The provision of CFAS advice and services has a focus on particular vulnerable countries, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and African States.
CFAS operates through a consortium of climate finance experts from developed and developing countries and is part of the Climate Ambition Suport Alliance (CASA).
CFAS is a demand-led service aiming to provide climate finance advice, and offers the following:
- Technical support to strategic partner countries: CFAS will meet national level demand, cooperating with government level representatives on climate finance issues. The objective of this collaboration is to strengthen the capacities of government representatives within the selected countries to facilitate a better link between national climate finance strategies, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the technical discussions in the Standing Committee on Finance (SCF).
- Real time support to additional negotiators and Board/Committee members ("Friends of CFAS"): The consortium partners will also provide tailored answers to queries of representatives of developing countries during meetings, supporting them to more effectively participate in and contribute to international negotiations and meetings related to climate finance.
- Climate Finance Interface: CFAS established this website – the Climate Finance Interface – which serves as a knowledge portal to disseminate and provide general knowledge products (policy papers, fact sheets, info graphs etc.) on climate finance topics, targeted at the broader climate finance community, including CSOs/NGOs, academia, government institutions and ministries in developing countries, in particular in LDC, SIDS and African States.
- Briefings at meetings of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and Standing Committee on Finance (SCF): As part of the Climate Finance Interface, the consortium delivers briefings of all attended GCF and SCF meetings in 2019. These briefings are intended to inform – in a concise and objective manner – developing country representatives who cannot attend, as well as the wider climate finance community around the globe about progress made, main points of discussion and key decisions taken at important climate finance meetings. The briefings will be compiled and sent to the CFAS email stakeholder list.
In the medium- to long-term CFAS aims to build up the capacity of negotiators, Board members, advisors and other delegates helping them to effectively participate in the complex global climate finance negotiations. CFAS aims to ensure a strong participation of the poor countries that are most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change by enabling them to articulate and voice their needs in the negotiations, and participate actively in the design of the future climate finance regime, in particular the GCF. Increasing their capacity in understanding and decrypting complex elements discussed in the climate finance negotiations with a view to improving the shape, coordination and representation of their positions in the climate negotiating fora is therefore crucial.