ADFIAP and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) held a briefing on the Green Climate Fund’s (GCF) ‘Country Readiness Program’ (CRP) for ADFIAP members and other financial institutions on August 22, 2016 at its headquarters in Manila.

The CRP is expected to offer needs-oriented support to countries for accessing and using the GCF once it is fully operational. The program will entail (a) capacity-building programmes in nine target countries and (b) the development of national project pipelines on the basis of existing and potential specific national plans and policies.

The specific deliverables of the program will include (1) conduct of workshops to train the private sector on opportunities to ‘green up’ and innovate the value chain of SMEs and on how to access the GCF and similar climate financing mechanisms; (2) potential regulatory incentives for increased private sector investment in line with national climate strategies; and (3) development of a roadmap for a public private partnership (PPP) in the area of climate change.

The UNEP was represented by Ms. Maria Paula Jaramillo from its Paris office and Mr. Rey Guarin of the GCF Readiness Program for the Philippines. Those attended the briefing were representatives from the Land Bank of the Philippines, Development Bank of the Philippines, Small Business Corporation, Philippine National Bank and ADFIAP Secretariat and Consulting Group.

The GCF https://www.greenclimate.fund which was established as an operating entity of the UNFCCC financial mechanism, is expected to become the main global fund for financing climate change mitigation and adaptation measures. For the GCF to succeed, national capacities and mechanisms need to correspond to the GCF requirements while also aligning with country planning, budgeting, programming and MRV systems.