Publications / Policy Papers

Ex-ante communication of climate finance is expected provide developing country Parties with the necessary certainty to plan for their low-carbon, climate-resilient development pathways. However, providing such information well in advance comes with certain challenges, deriving from the quite diverse nature of national budgetary processes.… >>>

The need to invest in adaptation rests upon the assumption that ‘anticipated risks or experienced impacts of climate change require action to ensure the safety of populations and the security of assets, including ecosystems and their services’. The outcomes of UN climate negotiations, including the Paris Agreement, are continuously urging for… >>>

The Paris Agreement (PA) marks a turning point in terms of defining targets and corresponding measures by introducing the concept of self-defined Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs); at the same time, it also calls for higher standards of accountability by launching the development of an enhanced transparency framework of action and… >>>

Many UNFCCC stakeholders see climate finance as one of the linchpins holding together the entire international climate policy process, for several reasons. First, the provision of climate finance to developing countries is an obligation developed countries have both under the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement. Fulfilling this obligation builds… >>>

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) made significant progress in 2014. By the end of the year, donor governments had committed an initial US$10.2 billion. Half of this sum will be devoted to adaptation, making the GCF the biggest multilateral adaptation finance institution in the world. The GCF’s first decisions on use of the funds are due to be taken… >>>

Governments discuss and negotiate common goals around the causes and consequences of climate change under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Since 1992, industrialised countries have pledged new and additional funding to developing countries to help them meet their climate-related obligations, as stipulated by… >>>

A new briefing by the Climate Finance Advisory Service (CFAS) highlights the key climate finance issues on the agenda of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) at their meeting in Lima Peru in December 2014. The CFAS Guide:… >>>

CDKN aims to help decision-makers select and deploy financial instruments – such as grants, concessional loans, equity and guarantees — to fund climate adaptation and mitigation activities. This guide summarises the barriers to financing mitigation and adaptation activities, as well as discussing factors to consider when selecting and… >>>

World leaders and governments paved the way for the establishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) through the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) agreements made at the Conference of Parties (COPs) in Copenhagen (2009) and Cancún (2010). The key objectives of the UNFCCC are to limit global warming to below 2°C (or… >>>

At the third meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Board in March 2013, Board members considered the different ways for developing countries to access funding. They agreed that “a country-driven approach is a core principle to build the business model of the Fund” and noted this as an area of convergence among its members.

Some Board… >>>