Zim accesses $300k from Climate Change Readiness Fund
ZIMBABWE is due to receive $300 000 from a bilateral agreement with the Green Climate Fund (GCF) for readiness support in creating the necessary framework for accessing the GCF funds, it has been established.
In a statement on Friday, Environment, Water and Climate Minister Oppah Muchinguri-Kashiri said the first batch of $100 000 was expected to be disbursed soon.
“I would like to inform you that in my other bilateral with the Green Climate Fund, I was informed of our successful application of a readiness support of $300 000 to assist Zimbabwe to create the necessary framework for accessing GCF funds,” she said.
The GCF is the newest actor in the multilateral climate finance architecture and became fully operational in 2015, approving $168 million for its first eight projects just weeks before COP 21.
In 2015, the GCF further developed essential policies and frameworks to receive, manage, programme and disburse finance as well as measure and account for its results and impacts.
At its 11th board meeting in Zambia in November 2015, the board for the first time, decided on project proposals that have been evaluated against a set of six agreed investment criteria.
The agreed criteria were focusing on impact (contribution to the GCF results areas); paradigm shift potential; sustainable development potential; needs of the recipient countries and populations; coherence with a country’s existing policies or climate strategies; and the effectiveness and efficiency of the proposed intervention, including its ability to leverage additional funding (in the case of mitigation) as well as a list of activity-specific sub-criteria and indicators agreed to earlier in 2015.
“The country has also been encouraged to work on a $3 million National Adaptation Plan Readiness Process from GCF. We have already submitted to GCF an $80-million adaptation project proposal concept for southern Zimbabwe which is an area, highly vulnerable to climate change,” Minister Muchinguri-Kashiri said.
She said the bilateral agreement was as a result of the ministry taking advantage of the 22nd Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP22) which was held from 7 to 18 November in Marrakesh, Morocco.
“We took advantage of the gathering and held a number of bilateral meetings with partners including SNV, World Bank, Africa Development Bank, Green Climate Fund, Africa Risk Capacity, Global Green Growth Institute and Care International.
“Africa Development Bank (AfDB) is the host of the Africa Renewable Energy Initiative hence the meeting provided an opportunity for the country to be appraised on the access modalities for this fund for renewable energy actions in the Zimbabwe.” —