Kenya finally gets GCF accreditation

Climate change is the defining challenge of our time. The human impact on our planet is unprecedented. Long-term changes in the earth’s climate system are significant. The Green Climate Fund was established with a mission to advance the goal of keeping the temperature increase on our home planet below 2 degrees Celsius.

The Fund is a unique global initiative to respond to climate change by investing into low-emission and climate-resilient development. Given the urgency and seriousness of the challenge, the Fund is mandated to make an ambitious contribution to the united global response to climate change.

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 Green Climate Fund is the only stand-alone multilateral financing entity whose sole mandate is to serve the Convention and that aims to deliver equal amounts of funding to mitigation and adaptation.

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.

With regards to this, GCF accepted the application of National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) based on its eligibility to be accredited as an Implementing Entity (IE) under the Green Climate Fund. The decision was made during the twelfth meeting of the GCF Board, held from 8th to 10th March 2016, in Songdo, Korea.

NEMA is the national implementing entity for Adaptation Fund project pipeline in Kenya. Following the GCF accreditation, NEMA has become the first government institution in Kenya, accredited to have direct access for GCF funding of up to USD 0-10 million. This follows NEMA’s application submitted in May 2015 to the GCF board for accreditation.

Thus, NEMA-Kenya is now one of the 33 institutions globally authorized to carry out GCF projects. As such, NEMA may carry out a series of activities which may include the development and presentation of proposals for financing, management oversight and execution of projects and programs and the implementation of a number of financial instruments within their respective capabilities.

The accreditation process assessed applicants entities in terms of their capacity to manage GCF resourcesin line with the fiduciary standards of the Fund according to the scale and type of funding requested, as well as the ability to manage environmental and social risks which may arise in the project level.

At the meeting held in S. Korea further policy decisions were made to strengthen alliances and grow the portfolio of projects throughout 2016.

These include the adoption of the first strategic plan of the Fund, its work plan for 2016 were taken/was approved, and the accreditation of a total of 13 new entities.

In addition to NEMA, the other new entities are: Agency for Agricultural Development in Morocco (ADA), Ministry of Finance and Economic Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia (MOFEC), Unit for Rural Change (UCAR), Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA);Crédit Agricole (CréditAgricole CIB);HSBC and subsidiaries (HSBC);African Development Bank (AfDB);European Investment Bank (EIB);International Finance Corporation (IFC);World Food Programme (WFP);International Union for Conservation of Nature and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Comparative advantages that benefited NEMA

For approval, the following had to be taken into account, the experience of NEMA in the formulation, development and implementation of programs and projects, and with regard to climate change, its designation in 2012 as National Implementing Entity to the Adaptation Fund of the United Nations.
In line with the Framework Convention of the United Nations Climate Change, NEMA prepared, implemented and regularly updated programs and projects that provided mitigation and adaptation.
In that line it is collaborating in the mitigation and adaptation to the impacts of climate change; development of appropriate and integrated plans for management of agriculture and livestock; and the protection and rehabilitation of areas affected by drought and desertification and floods.
Finally, NEMA maintains a close relationship with the various areas of the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to participate in the work on the analysis and study of mitigation measures and adaptation to climate change.
These are great steps NEMA has achieved on behalf of the country. On account of this, NEMA in collaboration with the relevant stakeholders will play a central role in the climate change agenda for Kenya.