Tackling Climate Change: Stakeholders launch fund to finance GH-NDCs project in Ghana

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Economic Strategic and Research Division under the Ministry of Finance have launched Ghana’s Green Climate Fund (GCF) to finance climate change projects. This is to ensure the country meets its climate change obligations.

The fund also seeks to help meet commitments made under the Paris Agreement through Ghana’s National Determined Contributions (GH-NDCs).

Acting Interim Resident Representative of the UNDP, Aeneas Chuma, explained that the GCF is targeted as a key source to finance the implementation of programmes and projects aimed at reducing emissions and increasing resilience between the year 2020 and 2030.

In that regard, he said, the development of the GCF would be crucial in determining which sectors, programmes and projects that the country would like to prioritize with the fund to enable it attract the needed results and to help deal with the effects of climate change.

“At the UNDP, we feel honoured to be partners of the Government of Ghana in its efforts to mobilize the needed financial resources to address the challenges posed by the climate change. The GCF has supported and continues to support, enhancement of direct access through accreditation of the national entities,” he said.

He assured stakeholders of their commitment to support the government, in particular, MoF in mobilizing the needed financial resources to help combat climate change.

Project Coordinator at the UNDP, Kojo Ayiredu Frimpong, indicated that Ghana has no proposed plan yet, and therefore no amount has been proposed for any project, stating that it would be the proposal to source for funds for projects from GCF.

“We just launched the programme that would enable us get funds for projects and so, we urging all stakeholders to come on board to develop comprehensive projects within the next 6 to 8 months. The proposed projects must be in line with the GCF’s criteria,” he noted.

Present at the launch were accredited agencies including the Finance Ministry and other departments under the GCF, the public and private sector organizations as well as Civil Society Organizations (CSOs).

The GCF was established in 2010 as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC) which is designed to disburse new and additional resources for addressing the climate change. The fund liaises with individual countries through a nominated national institution called that National Designated Authority (NDA), which is the Ministry of Finance.

Source: Eric Nii Sackey || [email protected]