The Green Climate Fund (GCF) has approved the Solar IPP Support Programme for Nigeria, which is expected to benefit no less than one million households in the country.
The $100 million project forms part of the nine new climate resilience and low emission projects totaling $440 million that were endorsed at the 22nd meeting of the GCF Board that ended on Thursday, February 28, 2019 in Songdo, South Korea.
According to sources, the Nigerian project will “reduce or avoid 476,487t CO2 eq on an annual basis, and 9,529,739 t CO2 eq. over the life of the programme”. The programme is also expected to reduce the perceived risks of investing in the Nigerian renewable energy sector and catalyse private sector investment in the area, through a commercial tranche, on a best effort basis.
At the meeting that saw the selection of Yannick Glemarec as its new Executive Director, the GCF took steps to strengthen operations, reinforce standards and close policy gaps. The meeting also approved the selection of nine new project partners to become Accredited Entities to GCF.
Co-Chair, Nagmeldin Goutbi Elhassan Mahmoud, said: “We have taken a series of positive decisions at this Board meeting that set us on a path for a successful and ambitious replenishment of GCF, in particular the selection of Yannick Glemarec as our new Executive Director.”
Co-Chair, Josceline Wheatley, stated: “The Board has worked together in a positive spirit this week to expand our portfolio, improve our governance, and strengthen GCF’s operations.”
Javier Manzanares, Executive Director ad interim, noted: “GCF now has a $5 billion portfolio in 97 countries supporting low-emission, climate-resilient development. With decisions to ensure better governance, new project approvals, and a reinforced readiness programme, this Board meeting has left us in great shape for our first replenishment.”
The nine new project approvals bring GCF’s portfolio to a total of 102 projects and programmes, committing $5 billion of GCF resources for climate action in 97 developing countries. Including co-financing, the portfolio channels $17.7 billion in climate finance through its network of 84 Accredited Entities. The new approvals include the first REDD+ results-based payments to be financed, relating to the Brazilian Amazon.
Providing readiness support to build the capacity of developing countries is a key part of GCF’s activities. The Board took note of the evaluation of the Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme by the Independent Evaluation Unit and adopted a work programme and budget that builds upon the evaluation findings and recommendations and provides $122.5 million for 2019 for a new phase of readiness support to developing countries.
Ahead of a pledging conference for the first replenishment of GCF later this year, the Board meeting also moved to complete the policies and standards that guide GCF’s climate activities. New investment criteria indicators will strengthen the implementation of the investment framework, whilst a policy on cancellation and restructuring of projects will further reinforce the good management of its portfolio of projects.
The Board also welcomed recommendations from the Independent Evaluation Unit on how to improve the Results Management Framework, as well as a management response and action plan. The adoption of a policy on protection from sexual exploitation, sexual abuse and sexual harassment, together with guidelines and procedures for the Independent Redress Mechanism ensures that GCF remains at the forefront of international efforts on safeguards and standards.
The 22nd GCF Board meeting approved the following projects and programmes:
- FP100 – $96.5 million for REDD+ results-based payments for results achieved by Brazil in the Amazon biome in 2014 and 2015 with UNDP
- FP101 – $8.0 million for Resilient Rural Belize (Be-Resilient) with IFAD
- FP102 – $29.6 million for Mali solar rural electrification project with BOAD
- FP103 – $18.8 million for Promotion of Climate-Friendly Cooking: Kenya and Senegal with GIZ
- FP104 – $100 million for Nigeria Solar IPP Support Programme with AFC
- FP105 – $69.6 million for BOAD Climate Finance Facility to Scale Up Solar Energy Investments in Francophone West Africa LDCs in Benin, Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, the Niger, and Togo with BOAD
- FP106 – $100 million for Embedded Generation Investment Programme (EGIP) in South Africa with DBSA
The following projects were also approved under the Simplified Approval Process (SAP):
- SAP005 – $9.0 million for Enhanced climate resilience of rural communities in central and north Benin through the implementation of ecosystem-based adaptation (EbA) in forest and agricultural landscapes with UN Environment
- SAP006 – $8.9 million for Building resilience of communities living in landscapes threatened under climate change through an ecosystems-based adaptation approach in Namibia with EIF
The GCF Board also approved the accreditation application of the following entities:
- Alternative Energy Promotion Centre (AEPC) based in Nepal
- Environmental Project Implementation Unit (EPIU) of the Ministry of Nature Protection of the Republic of Armenia
- Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza A.C. (FMCN) based in Mexico
- National Fund for Environment and Climate (FNEC) of Benin
- Pacific Community (SPC) based in New Caledonia
- JS Bank Limited (JS Bank) based in Pakistan
- Attijariwafa Bank (AWB) based in Morocco
- Macquarie Alternative Assets Management Limited (MAAML) based in Australia
- Luxembourg Agency for Development Cooperation (LuxDev) based in Luxembourg
