Ajay Mathur, an Indian will be the Head of Green Climate Fund

Green Climate Fund to Appoint Ajay Mathur as Director Tomorrow

Click here for this story in full at Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-15/green-climate-fund-to-appoint-ajay-mathur-as-director-tomorrow.html

The Green Climate Fund, being set up to distribute emissions-cutting and adaptation money to developing countries from richer nations, will tomorrow appoint Ajay Mathur as director.

Mathur will start in a “bridging” role at least until a permanent executive director is appointed around the middle of next year, Richard Kinley, deputy executive secretary of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn, said today by phone. Mathur was previously director general of the Indian Bureau of Energy Efficiency in New Delhi, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

To contact the reporter on this story: Mathew Carr in London at m.carr@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Rob Verdonck at rverdonck@bloomberg.net

Click here for this story in full at Bloomberg: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-11-15/green-climate-fund-to-appoint-ajay-mathur-as-director-tomorrow.html 

How much does United Nations' Ban Ki-moon hate Africa? A lot ! He lobbied behind the scenes that the newest Global Green Fund be located in his native South Korea !

Click here to read this in full at allAfrica.com: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210240554.html

NAMIBIA has lost to South Korea in the bidding to host the secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Green Climate Fund (GCF) in Windhoek.
The 24-member board of the GCF on Saturday selected the South Korean port city of Incheon to house the secretariat.

Environment and Tourism Minister Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah said earlier that Namibia deserved to host the secretariat because the country had demonstrated strong leadership and acted as a role model for other developing countries in the area of climate change and environmental management.
Namibia submitted its expression of interest to an interim GCF secretariat on February 15, and its candidature to host the fund was endorsed by the Southern African Development Community (SADC) as well as the African Union (AU)...

Click here to read this in full at allAfrica.com: http://allafrica.com/stories/201210240554.html

Green climate $$$$ CASH ? - Ban Ki-moon is working behind the scenes to have the Fund located in South Korea/Incheon City.

Click here to read this in full @ Korea Herald: http://view.koreaherald.com/kh/view.php?ud=20121015000703&cpv=0


Six cities in race to host Green Climate Fund; decision expected on Friday

Korean officials are making a final pitch to host a U.N.-operated fund which will be the single largest source of financing for global efforts to fight climate change.

Songdo, a newly developed international business district in Incheon, is vying with five other cities to host the secretariat of the Green Climate Fund.

A decision is expected during a meeting of the fund’s board members in Songdo on Friday.

The other five competitors are Bonn in Germany, Mexico City, Windhoek in Namibia, Warsaw and Geneva. Korean officials say it looks like a race amongst Bonn, Geneva and Songdo.

“It is a tough competition, but we’re hopeful,” a government official involved said.

The winner of the race will be chosen by a majority vote of 24 members of the fund, equally spread between developed and developing countries during their Oct. 18-20 gathering in Songdo.

CFR: Guest Post: Ready for Primetime? The $100 Billion Climate Fund

Click here to read full article on Council of Foreign Relations

by Guest Blogger for Stewart M. Patrick
August 9, 2012

Curtis Wold, of the Kansas Wetlands Education Center, examines one of the dry pools at the Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area, in Great Bend, Kansas August 7, 2012 (Jeff Tuttle/Courtesy Reuters).

Below, my colleague Farah Thaler, associate director of CFR’s International Institutions and Global Governance program assesses the progress of and prospects for the Green Climate Fund.

After delays and political bickering, a late August date was announced last week to hold the first meeting of the Green Climate Fund (GCF)—the ambitious multilateral funding instrument to help developing countries tackle climate change. We should expect more snags in the coming years as the GCF is pieced together before it is fully operational.

The GCF, proposed at the 2009 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meeting in Copenhagen, is envisioned to amass up to $100 billion a year after 2020 of additional and sustainable funds.  Through grants and concessional loans for climate projects, the fund is expected to finance mitigation and adaptation efforts in poor countries at an unprecedented scale. To put it in perspective, the largest climate fund today—the Climate Investment Funds under the umbrella of the World Bank—has $6.5 billion pledged for the period 2009-2012. The World Bank in total funds some $43 billion in development projects per year.  The GCF could double that.

Click here to read full article on Council of Foreign Relations

UNDP: Durban - What is at stake for Africa?

• Date:29 Nov 2011
• Source(s):United Nations Development Programme - South Africa (UNDP South Africa)

At its most fundamental, climate threatens to negate the achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and hinder positive movement in the areas directly related to UNDP’s mandate. Ensuring that developing countries are best able to tackle the many dimensions of climate change is therefore core business for our organization. The mechanisms established by the Cancun Agreements provide new opportunities for countries to develop, finance and deliver climate change programming. UNDP's role will be to help them to make the most of the emerging mechanisms.

Why is the current round of climate negotiations important for Africa?

The current round of climate negotiations, known as 17th Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), will take place in Durban. It is hoped that Africa will be better represented than in the past. As a region, Africa is the least responsible for climate change but it will be most affected. The region has been speaking with one voice but is struggling to be heard. For Africa, the requirements are the same as in previous years. First, countries from the region are asking that global warming be kept below a 1.5 degrees temperature increase by the end of the century – which is almost impossible now given the current trends in emissions. Secondly, African countries are asking that developed and emerging countries (China, India, Brazil, etc.) agree to massively reduce their emissions. The third requirement is for the international community to help Africa adapt to the impact of climate change because its economies are fragile, like their agriculture which is often rain-fed.

What should be the most important message for developed countries?

Developed countries must fulfill their previous commitments. The Bali Roadmap had created opportunities in the area of technology transfers, adaptation, mitigation and financing. On financing, developed countries had estimated the needs at USD 30 billion by 2012 and 100 billion annually by 2020. But the current economic downturn has made it much more difficult to confirm these commitments. Today, some Northern countries are proposing that we should include private sector investments in these global commitments. Africa is calling for new and additional financial commitments.

What are the most important mechanisms which will be discussed in Durban?

In Cancún, one of the agreements was to establish a Green Climate Fund. Since then, a few great ideas have emerged, such as the adoption of an international currency tax to feed that fund. The Adaptation Fund will also be on the agenda, currently financed by a 2 percent levy on all carbon credits, which allow Northern countries to reduce emissions in Southern countries by purchasing emissions permits. The future of the fund will obviously be uncertain if the Kyoto Protocol is not extended. Another issue in Durban will be technology transfers, including the creation of a center and a network devoted to the issue. There is already a consensus and this point will probably constitute a real step forward in the negotiations. Durban will also see further progress on REDD, which allows developing countries to finance their reductions in carbon emissions by protecting their forests.

What is the role of UNDP and can you provide some examples of our work on the ground?

In general terms, UNDP aims to build the capacities of developing countries, particularly in the climate change negotiations. In addition, UNDP assists them in accessing the funds that are being gradually established, helping them to define strategies for developing low- carbon and climate resilient economies.

Another example is our “Boots on the Ground” programme, through which we mobilized 26 climate change focal points from UNDP in the Least Developed Countries, including 14 African countries. This initiative aims to support African decision-makers in their approach and understanding of the problem. Climate change cannot be the sole jurisdiction of Environment Ministries – all government departments must be involved. Tackling climate change involves designing policies on land use, agriculture, the economy, energy, etc. UNDP is also following countries in their application for direct access to international funds, which will allow for more flexibility and better responses to their requests. So far, international funds were available through implementing agencies. Now, we are helping them to meet the fiduciary requirements for direct access. Thus, Senegal became the first African country to identify a national agency that will have direct access to financing from the Adaptation Fund.

Additional information

http://www.undp.org.za/cop17-information/416