The COVID-19 pandemic and the global response required to stem it shows the importance of acting together to solve unparalleled threats to people and our planet. The far-reaching impacts of COVID-19 are a stark reminder of the catastrophic implications the world faces if we don’t.
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is committed to ensuring that the world that emerges from the pandemic is one that is more aligned on a climate-smart path.
“We will continue to collaborate with our partners to enable developing countries, particularly those that are most vulnerable, to strengthen their resilience in ways that foster low-carbon, sustainable and inclusive growth.”
While COVID-19 is causing untold suffering, the international response to this unprecedented health crisis in modern times offers an opportunity to direct finances towards bolstering climate action. GCF will continue to make critical investments in climate-resilient water resource management, health care facilities, agriculture and livelihoods – all of which are essential to subduing and overcoming the pandemic. Similarly, GCF will step up efforts to catalyse green investment to relaunch economies on low-emission, climate-resilient trajectories.
As a partnership organisation, GCF fully recognises that the virus is impacting its partners and implementation of GCF-funded projects in developing countries, including new challenges created by social distancing measures and travel restrictions. GCF is committed to collaborating closely with its partners to identify how COVID-19 is affecting climate action activities and what measures can be taken to address both immediate and longer-term impacts.
While taking a phased and risk-based approach to alleviating project implementation challenges, GCF will also explore new climate investment opportunities that have strong social and economic co-benefits. Given the extraordinary COVID-19 circumstances, the Green Climate Fund is pursing options to provide flexibility to its partners, including by providing a 6-month, no-cost extension on some Readiness Programme and Project Preparation Facility grants – two GCF programs designed to improve developing countries’ ability to develop climate finance proposals.
The interlinkages between people, planet and prosperity have never been clearer. The Green Climate Fund is confident that only a united approach – bringing together determined efforts and innovation – will provide lasting solutions to both the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change.
Original source: Green Climate Fund
Published on 10 April 2020
