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Paris pledges €1 million to Green Climate Fund

Malawi and other developing countries stand to benefit from the €1 million (about MK634 290 399) Green Climate Fund (GCF) which the city of Paris has pledged towards climate change response.

The pledge was announced on Thursday during a meeting between Mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo and GCF’s Executive Director Héla Cheikhrouhou, at the Paris Hôtel de Ville (City Hall).

Paris is currently hosting the UNFCCC climate conference (COP21).

Anne-Hidalgo
urged other cities around the world to support the fund.

The Fund is the only stand-alone multilateral financing entity whose mandate is to serve the Convention (UNFCCC) and that aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation.

The Fund already approved a $12.3 million (K7 billion) project aimed at scaling up the use of modernised climate information and early warning systems in Malawi when the Fund’s Board met on November 16 2015 in Livingstone, Zambia.

The project will support the Malawi Government to take important steps to save lives and enhance livelihoods at risk from climate-related disasters. The project focuses on Malawi’s technical, financial capacity, access barriers related to weather and climate information (CI).

These barriers will be addressed by investing in enhancing the hydro-meteorological capacity for early warnings (EWs) and forecasting; developing and disseminating tailored products for different actors including smallholder farmers and fishers and strengthening capacities of communities to respond to climate-related disasters.

The project is aligned with Malawi’s national strategies such as the Malawi Growth and Development Strategy and the National Adaptation Programme of Action (Napa).

Malawi is one of the only three countries in Africa to access the fund. UNDP works with government and communities on this project.

Over 40 countries have so far pledged contributions to the Fund, which commenced its initial resource mobilization in 2014 and has so far raised about $10 billion, of which close to 60 percent has already been converted into signed agreements.

Cheikhrouhou welcomed the pledge, stating that “it is a very strong signal that can be emulated by other cities and regions.”

Mayor Hidalgo urged other cities around the world to support the fund.

“Fighting against damaging climate change means putting in place ambitious domestic policies, but also providing the financial means to the most vulnerable countries so that they can protect their populations,” said Mayor Hidalgo adding that Paris has a particular interest in developing the resilience of cities to adapt to the adverse impacts of climate change.

The Fund approved its first eight projects, one of which is in Malawi, at its Board meeting in Zambia last month, for a total GCF investment of $168 million.

GCF will build its investment profile over the coming years and is seeking ambitious projects from developing countries that will catalyse the transition to low-emission, climate-resilient development.
GCF is accountable to the United Nations. It is guided by the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It is governed by a Board of 24 members, comprising an equal number of members from developing and developed countries.

The Fund remains open for contributions during its first funding period (2015-2018), and accepts them on an ongoing basis.

Sellina Kainja

Online Editor | Social Media Expert | Earth Journalism Network Fellow | Media Trainer | Columnist

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