Green Climate Fund (GCF)
Green Climate Fund (GCF)
The GCF was established in 2010 by the 197 country Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). GCF is an operating entity of the Financial Mechanism outlined under Article 11 of the Paris Agreement. Given the urgency and seriousness of climate change, the purpose of the GCF is to make a significant and ambitious contribution to the global efforts towards attaining the goals set by Paris Agreement. The mandate of GCF is to promote a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways by providing support to developing countries to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (mitigation) and to adapt to the impacts of climate change (adaptation).
A core GCF principle is to follow a country-driven approach, which means developing countries must lead GCF programming and project implementation. GCF helps countries design, finance and implement innovative climate initiatives that can be replicated, scaled up and sustained after project completion to achieve transformational change. GCF strives to balance its funding equally between mitigation and adaptation and to maximize development co-benefits to increase the resilience of the most vulnerable people, communities and nations.
The Fund has served as a valuable mechanism to mobilize financial and technical resources to address the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries' national climate change priorities in alignment with each country’s GCF Country Programme. To date, Saint Lucia has accessed four (4) country-level readiness grants totalling USD$2.6m and has received readiness support through an additional seven (7) multi-country readiness grants.
