As the Green Climate Fund (GCF) board meets in Kigali, Rwanda from March 4 to 7, 2024, non-state actors, under the convenorship of the Pan African Climate Justice Alliance (PACJA) have said that current model of GCF financing and its effectiveness in Africa is not working and should be urgently addressed.
At the Africa Climate Summit – Non-State Actors Steering Committee (ACS-NSA) forum held on Thursday, March 7, 2024, in Nairobi, Kenya, they expressed concern over issues related to low levels of funding in Africa compared to the rest of the developing countries, the GCF’s failure to provide relevant readiness support to African countries, lapses in accountability of GCF in Africa and projects funded by GCF, bureaucratic and highly technocratic processes, and the fact that a substantial portion of the GCF funding is being channelled through a select few large multilateral entities.
The climate campaigners have thus called on the GCF Secretariat to develop a holistic, accountable and transformative framework of engagement with African non-state actors, CSOs and communities most impacted by climate change in the continent, beyond the observer status space.
They also want the Secretariat to strengthen communities and civil society organisations (CSOs) oversight mechanisms on the GCF regarding expanding the role of CSOs to include active participation in project planning, implementation, monitoring, evaluation and reporting. It should likewise relate to directly facilitating oversight and accountability actions by CSOs and communities to enhance their watchdog role across all GCF projects and programmes.
They also want the National Designated Authorities (NDAs) reformed by defining a holistic and inclusive representation of agencies, including communities and civil societies in the overall governance of the national space that is meant to vet and accredit entities for purposes of accessing GCF; fostering partnerships with non-governmental organisations, faith actors, women and youth movements, academia, and the private sector to leverage additional expertise, infrastructure and resources for GCF projects; and developing guidelines that enhance the application of inclusive and participatory approaches on the part of NDAs in project identification, selection, and implementation to ensure the alignment of GCF-funded activities with national priorities and strategies.
The activists further urged the GCF Board to: Secure the interests of the frontline communities through monitoring progress on the implementation of Locally Led Adaptation Principles, create a distinct window for communities and civil societies, give a consideration of debt implications of GCF funding.
The group stated: “We call on the GCF to demonstrate progress towards adoption and action in implementing the principles of locally led adaptation action in all their projects and programmes that interphase with communities in Africa.
“Demand from all GCF Grantees clear documentation that demonstrates the mechanisms put in place by the grantee to strengthen the decision-making power of the local communities in project design and implementation.
“GCF should urgently develop clear targets for annual scaleup of funding to address the increasing impacts of climate change on vulnerable communities and ecosystems in Africa.
“The GCF should as a matter of urgency, design a distinct direct access window for the submission and review of proposals from local communities and African CSOs to address inequality and injustices that has hitherto characterised the fund.
“Ensure that such a mechanism is not subject to accreditation and vetting process at the national level through government entities that characterise existing funding arrangements.
“Streamline the accreditation process for DAEs to reduce barriers to entry and promote greater inclusivity in accessing GCF resources while promoting decentralised decision-making processes within DAEs to ensure that funding decisions reflect the priorities and needs of frontline communities.
“GCF should conduct thorough assessments of the potential debt implications of their projects on recipient countries, particularly those with limited financial resources.
“It should also develop financing mechanisms that minimise the risk of debt distress such as providing grants and not loans to ensure that climate funds contribute to sustainable development without burdening recipient countries with additional debt.
“We call on the GCF to work with the UNFCCC and governments across Africa to ensure multilateralism requirements do not impede the delivery of climate finance at the frontline at the speed and scale required.
“We also call on accelerated review of the current model for access to advance a frame model that works for Africa – we cannot continue a business model that is not working for Africa.”
