Comment
Insights and expert analysis on climate issues.
Share
Preparing for the Suva Expert Dialogue – getting Loss and Damage right
Dr Olivia Serdeczny
By now it is clear that climate change is as much an economic problem as it is an environmental one. Rising temperatures slow economic growth and devastating climate-related impacts leave large negative imprints on economic development of developing countries. Most financial instruments that have been proposed in the context of loss and damage do not solve the problems developing countries face.
From Paris to Songdo: How the Green Climate Fund’s new Strategic Vision supports the Paris Agreement
12th meeting of the Green Climate Fund Board — decisions reflect the 1.5° temperature limit and a five-year goal for decarbonisation of private banks’ investment portfolios.
At its latest meeting 2-5 November in Livingstone, Zambia the Green Climate Fund Board strengthened the Fund’s accreditation framework by agreeing on a policy to review every five years to what extent the GCF’s implementing partners’ overall portfolio of activities - beyond those funded by the GCF - have evolved in the direction of the Fund’s goal to promote a paradigm shift. Partners that continue to heavily invest into coal and other fossil fuels are now at risk of loosing their accreditation after their initial accreditation period ends.
Fossil fuel divestment started as a grass-roots movement and, as it gains momentum, more and more actors — university campuses, cities, pension funds, banks, to name but a few — commit to move away from investing in coal, oil and gas. Divestment campaigns have been increasing the pressure on governments and institutions in the run up to the upcoming climate summit in Paris but will also play an important role once the expected global agreement to halt climate change is in place.
Many eyes will turn to the Green Climate Fund (GCF) at the beginning of November when its Board meets to consider proposals for the Fund’s first projects and programmes.This 11th Board meeting will be an important milestone for the success of the Paris climate summit, scheduled to commence on the 30th of November, just a few weeks later.
The annual UNFCCC “In-session Workshop on Long-term Finance” was held on 4-5 June 2015, during the Bonn Climate Change Conference, and focused on adaptation finance. Climate Analytics’ Laetitia De Marez facilitated a break-out group on collaborative arrangements for managing climate risks.