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Info Service on Climate Change (Oct21/02) African
Group express concerns over Green Climate Fund Board Actions, Libreville, Gabon, 8 October 2021: The African Board and Alternate Board members representing the African countries at the Green Climate Fund (GCF) were disappointed in the outcome and handing of the reaccreditation process for the one of Africa’s direct access entities. The lack of transparency and failure to consider the long-term ramifications of the decision has led the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) under the UNFCCC to react with shock at the unfair and discriminatory policy conditions proposed by a group of developed countries. Speaking after the Board meeting, the African Group Chair Mr. Tanguy Gahouma (Gabon) welcomed the re-accreditation of the Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia. According to the Chair, “the EIF is the frontrunning and leader of enhanced direct access and local community empowerment for climate solutions in Namibia and has worked and supported peer-to-peer learning and collaboration with other potential accredited entities throughout the Continent.” Mr. Gahouma also welcomed the approval of a number of projects in Africa, including:
However, the Chair expressed disappointment that the re-accreditation of the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) was suspended due to the lack of consensus over the policy conditionality proposed by Sweden, France, the US and other developed countries. According to the Chair of the African Group “the DBSA as a regional direct access entity plays will support the commitment of African countries to implement their ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions that have already been submitted to the UNFCCC.” He added “the suspension of the decision on the DBSA is a major setback for implementation, particularly prior to the Glasgow COP where we expect developed countries to re-commit to the USD100billion per year goal and to address barriers that continue to impede African countries’ access to climate finance.” The Chair also stated that “the DBSA is at the forefront of supporting the pathway towards low emissions and climate resilient development, in particular it has led work on advancing the Just Transition component of this pathway.” The DBSA recently approved an integrated Just Transition Investment Framework (JTIF) which aims to curb the rise in high carbon intensive investments, addresses transition risk, whilst simultaneously ensuring human rights, social equity and biodiversity needs are addressed. He also stated that “the JTIF reflects the DBSA Board’s commitment to a greener bank and promotes DBSA as a leader in climate finance in the region, as well as reinforces DBSA’s commitment to align with the Paris Agreement.” For the African Group, the process leading to the suspension of the decision was marred with procedural irregularities, including dismissing the mandatory assessment prepared by the GCF Secretariat and the Accreditation Panel. It states “DBSA has taken concrete steps to reduce investments in highly carbon-intensive sectors and to expand and promote investment in sustainable projects. The AE has also played an active role in leading climate change responses in development finance institutions.” The assessment concluded that “ evidence provided for the first accreditation term demonstrates the continuous positive trend of developing climate change mitigation and adaptation and cross-cutting activities. Both the strategy and the trend of activities are aligned with the GCF mandate and objective.” Said the Chair “the approach by the group of developed countries to dismiss the assessment findings and to impose policy conditionalities did not reflect the principles of equity and common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, nor did their approach respect country ownership.” With developed countries falling short of honouring their obligations to the USD 100billon per year, the African Ministers of Environment recently called on the Glasgow COP to “set a new post 2025 climate finance mobilization goal with developed countries committing to mobilize jointly at least USD 1.3 trillion per year by 2030, of which 50% for mitigation and 50% for adaptation and a significant percentage on grant basis from a floor of USD 100 billion, taking into account the needs and priorities of developing countries and in particular the special circumstances of Africa.” Ministers also stressed the importance of the Just Transition when making financial flows consistent with the pathway and underscored the opportunity for African countries to increase climate investment flows tied to the global low-emission and climate resilience shift. For
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