GREEN CLIMATE FUND HOW FUNDING IS DECIDED » how are funding proposals
departments). The letter provides assurance that the host government does not object to the funding proposal, and that the proposal conforms to national priorities, strategies, plans, laws, and regulations. In the case of funding proposals that involve programmes (rather than just projects), the noobjection must apply to all projects and activities.
initiated and developed?
There are no restrictions on whom or what kind of organization can come up with an idea for a Green Climate Fund (GCF) funding proposal. Activities can be proposed by organizations based in developed or developing countries, but only an approved GCF partner can actually submit a proposal. There are 33 of these “accredited entities” so far (see http://bit.ly/1q3ab88), ranging from multilateral banks to government ministries, with dozens more currently considering accreditation. Other organizations must work with accredited entities to develop their proposals. For example, an unaccredited government ministry may work with a GCFaccredited multilateral development agency to develop a proposal, or an unaccredited civil society organization or cooperative may work with a GCF-accredited commercial bank.
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» how are proposals evaluated?
The GCF Secretariat first checks proposals to ensure that they are complete, then assesses them for compliance with GCF policies, including environmental and social safeguards, fiduciary standards, and gender policy. The Secretariat also assesses the proposal against the GCF’s Investment Framework The Secretariat then provides its assessment to an Independent Technical Advisory Panel (ITAP), which provides recommendations to the Board based on the GCF's Initial Investment Framework. These includes six criteria – impact potential, paradigm shift potential, sustainable development potential, the needs of the recipient (both the host country and those affected by the activity), country ownership, efficiency and effectiveness.
» what activities will the gcf fund?
The GCF Investment Framework should be implemented according to a series of more technical sub-criteria. However, there is no specific methodology for weighting criteria based on importance or a quantitative scoring/scaling system.
GCF proposals must correspond to at least one of the Fund's strategic priorities, which are very broadly defined. The GCF aims to provide half of its funding to mitigation activities (reducing greenhouse gas emissions), including energy generation and access; transport; buildings, cities, industries, and appliances; forests and land use. The other half of GCF funding should focus on adaptation to the impacts of climate change, with a focus on the increased resilience of: health, food, and water security; livelihoods of people and communities; infrastructure and built environment; and ecosystems and ecosystem services.
The assessments from the GCF Secretariat and ITAP are all shared with the Board, along with a recommendation from the Secretariat as to whether it thinks an activity should receive funding. The ITAP assessment and original funding proposals (or summaries of these) are shared publicly on the GCF website three weeks before Board meetings.
» how are proposals submitted?
To date, the GCF has only submitted eight funding proposals to the Board, all of which were approved in November 2015, so it is difficult to discern exactly how the Investment Framework will be used in practice to evaluate funding proposals.
Accredited entities submit funding proposals. All funding proposals must be accompanied by a “letter of no objection” submitted by the host country’s National Designated Authority or focal point (these are usually within government
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