GCF Frequently Asked Questions

What does GCF Stand for ?

GCF stands for Green Climate Fund

What is accreditation?

Accreditation is the act of granting credit or recognition, especially to an educational institution that maintains suitable standards. It is necessary to any person or institution in education that needs to prove that they meet a general standard of quality.

Which are its investment priority areas?

The Fund has identified 5 investment priorities which will deliver major mitigation and adaptation benefits:

• Transforming energy generation and access
• Creating climate-compatible cities
• Encouraging low-emission and climate-resilient agriculture
• Scaling up finance for forests and climate change
• Enhancing resilience in Small Island Developing States (SIDS)

These priority areas cut across different sectors and are relevant in many zones of the planet. The GCF Investment Framework will ensure coherence in the Fund’s resource allocation and focus upon scalable projects that will help deliver paradigm changes across the developing world and make a real difference to the climate and the lives of millions.

How does GCF work?

The Green Climate Fund is unique in its ability to engage directly with both the public and private sector in transformational climate-sensitive investments. The Fund will work through a wide range of entities to channel its resources to projects and programmes. Such entities may be international, regional, national, or subnational, public or private institutions that meet the standards of the Fund. Countries may access the Fund through multiple entities      simultaneously.
As part of its innovative framework, the Fund has the capacity to bear significant climate-related risk, allowing it to leverage and crowd in additional financing. The Fund offers a wide range of financial products, enabling it to match project needs and adapt to specific investment contexts, including the use of its funding to overcome market barriers for private finance.

How does it fund entities?

The Green Climate Fund will finance projects and programmes in the public and the private sectors that contribute towards achieving at least one of the eight          strategic            impacts          of         the      Fund.
Access to GCF resources to undertake climate change projects and programmes is possible for accredited national, regional, and international entities. Accredited Entities (AEs) can submit funding proposals to the Fund at any time. To ensure country ownership, the Fund’s Board will consider only those funding proposals which are submitted with a formal letter of no objection in accordance with the Fund’s initial no-objection procedure. 
An AE or an executing entity (i.e. project or programme sponsor) may submit a concept note for feedback and recommendations from the Fund, in consultation with the National Designated Authority or Focal Point. The recommendation will clarify whether the concept is endorsed, not endorsed with a possibility of resubmission, or rejected.

1. What will accredited entities do?

Accredited entities may carry out a range of activities, including:

• Developing and submitting funding proposals for projects and programmes;
• Overseeing management and implementation of projects and programmes;
• Deploying a range of financial instruments within their respective capacities (grants, concessional loans, equity & guarantees); and
• Mobilizing private sector capital.

The accreditation process is designed to ensure that accredited entities have the ability to manage the Fund’s resources in line with best-practice fiduciary standards for the scale and type of funding sought, as well as the ability to manage environmental and social risks that may arise at the project level.

• How can prospective entities be accredited?

An interested entity will need to submit a completed application through the Fund’s Online Accreditation System (OAS) consistent with the Fund’s fit-for-purpose accreditation approach. This approach recognizes the role of a wide range of entities, which differ in the scope and nature of their activities, as well as their capacities in advancing the objectives of the Fund. The accreditation approach accommodates this diversity by matching the nature, scale and risk of intended activities to the application of the fiduciary standards and environmental and social safeguards. Sub national, national, and regional entities, public or private, applying for accreditation will need to submit a nomination letter from an NDA or focal point as a part of their application for accreditation.

1. WHAT’S GCF Readiness Programme

The German Government, through the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), has committed to supporting developing countries in strengthening their national capacities to access the GCF, and to thereby help operationalize the GCF as soon as possible. In order to do so, BMU has invited the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the World Resources Institute (WRI) to develop a GCF Readiness Programme. The Programme will prepare developing countries to effectively and efficiently plan for, access, manage, deploy and monitor financing through the Green Climate Fund once it is fully operational.

In its target countries, the Programme will:

• Offer needs-oriented capacity building support in order to enable countries to directly or indirectly access the GCF, also taking into account access requirements defined within other funds and facilities such as the Adaptation Fund and GEF
• Help develop national project pipelines on the basis of national climate change strategies, plans and policies, including through the active involvement of the private sector
• Assist in setting up in-country monitoring tracking systems for climate finance and its effectiveness
• Disseminate lessons learned in the course of the implementation back to the GCF Board in order to support its work in designing the GCF operations

   X.            Who are NDAs?

The Green Climate Fund recognizes the need to ensure that developing country partners exercise ownership of climate change funding and integrate it within their own national action plans. GCF's Governing Instrument makes clear that the Fund will adopt a country-driven approach and strengthen program coherence and stakeholder coordination at the national level. That’s why in every developing country there are National Designated Authorities (NDAs), who are the interface between each country and the Fund. These Focal Points communicate the country’s strategic priorities for financing low-emission and climate-resilient development across its economy.

XI.            When was NEMA Accredited?

The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) got accredited as an Implementing Entity under Direct Access with Green Climate Fund (GCF) in March 2016. It is now one of the 33 institutions globally authorized to carry out GCF projects.

• What’s the work of NEMA being the NIE for GCF?

 NEMA can carry out a series of activities which include developing and submitting funding proposals for projects and programmes, overseeing management and implementation of projects and programmes, deploying a range of financial instruments within its capacity and mobilizing private sector capital.

• Which are some of the areas in which Kenyans are likely to benefit following this accreditation?

Some of the areas in which Kenyans are likely to benefit from through the fund  include but not limited to: reduction of the effects of climate change (desertification, global warming unpredictable rainfall patterns, storms, floods), sustainable development, promotion of environmentally friendly technologies i.e. agriculture, industries, poverty reduction, greater awareness on climate change, greater involvement of Kenyans in climate change activities, shift towards green economy, raising the Kenyan portfolio in climate financing globally and access to more funds.

• What’s the project size for that we have been accredited on?

We have been accredited to have direct access for GCF funding of up to USD 0-10 million.