TWO Guyanese are currently in Songdo, South Korea, participating in a Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) “Accelerating Access” conference and workshop where they will present proposals for funding from the GCF over the medium term for several projects. According to a release from the Ministry of the Presidency, the two persons are Monitoring and Evaluation specialists and Head of the Project Management Office, Marlon Bristol and Head of the Office of Climate,Janelle Christian.
The purpose of the forum is to present proposals for funding from the GCF over the medium term. In this regard, the local team will formally present and discuss written proposals and grant-funding options, the release noted.
Guyana’s four submitted projects are: Guyana’s Model Green Town (Bartica) Phase I and II; Policy Development – Environment Policy and Climate Change Policy; Increasing Resilience through Enhancement and Maintenance of Guyana’s Sea Defence Infrastructure; and Public Health Adaptation to Climate Change.
The ministry said that these projects are interlinked and aligned to Guyana’s Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDC) submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Climate Resilience Strategy Action Plan (CRSAP), the Green Economy Plan and the Green Bartica Plan, among other documents.
“Guyana’s GCF Inception Report for the Readiness and Preparation Proposal was approved in March 2016 with a budget of US$300,000. This project will strengthen the capacities within the NDA (expanding to the Ministries of Finance, Natural Resources, Public Infrastructure, Civil Defence Commission, inter alia) to facilitate efficient planning and administration of fund-related responsibilities through the development and implementation of a Country Strategic Framework to the GCF,” the statement added.
Additionally, it was noted that Guyana is implementing this first project with the GCF through a delivery partner – the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC/5Cs).
A delivery partner is a GCF-accredited entity. Guyana has not accredited any entity and hence the reason for 5Cs acting in that capacity. However, the ministry disclosed that Guyana intends to identify accredited entities in the near future.
The GCF was established as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC. The Fund is expected to play a significant role in the mobilisation of climate finance, which is planned to increase over time to reach US$100 billion per year by 2020.
Meanwhile, prior to their departure on April 22, Bristol and Christian met with Minister of State Joseph Harmon, within whose purview the Project Management and Climate Change offices fall. The minister is also Guyana’s National Designated Authority (NDA) to the GCF. The one-week forum concludes tomorrow.