The United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) has attained accreditation to the Green Climate Fund (GCF). This milestone achievement of the industrial oriented international organization, presents an opportunity for scaling up climate change action across the world. An announcement was made by Green Climate Fund (GCF) during the 26th Board Meeting conducted virtually, online from 18 to 21 August 2020.
The Green Climate Fund is the largest fund for climate mitigation and climate adaptation related financing for developing and transition countries. It is estimated that the GCF mobilises approximately 100 Billion United States per annum of climate finance. UNIDO, which is headquartered in Vienna, Austria has continually shown excellence in the implementation of Inclusive and Sustainable Industrial Development (ISID), climate technologies, Resource Efficient and Cleaner Production (RECP), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. UNIDO and its partners expressed optimism that the accreditation will strengthen the ability to scale-up and replicate climate projects in different parts of the world.
Accreditation to the Green Climate Fund is attained after fulfilling specific requirements, amongst them fiduciary measures to demonstrate ability to manage climate finance. According to the Green Climate Fund, “accreditation involves assessment of an entity’s policies, procedures, track record and demonstrated capacity to implement projects”. The application process for accreditation is on a rolling basis and there is no deadline for submission.
Stakeholders across the globe, expressed optimism that this development will facilitate technology transfer and speed up efforts to reach the commitments of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UNIDO Office in Zimbabwe led by Mr Tichaona Mushayandebvu expressed confidence that this watershed moment will provide opportunities for Green Industry Initiative and other related projects.
Accreditation requires rigorous scrutiny of environmental, social and fiduciary guidelines of an entity’s operations. In the context of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), track record in handling financial instruments such as loans, grants, guarantees and equity is a clear added advantage.
The 197 parties of the Paris Agreement see the GCF as a significant opportunity for reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions in collaboration with National Designated Entities (NDEs). Online assessment is carried out as well as independent assessment. Back and forth requests of information may also happen to verify certain aspects of the application and then a recommendation is made to the GCF Board to consider accreditation. If application is successful, an Accreditation Master Agreement can be developed to serve as an overarching agreement between GCF and accredited entity. Many organization across the world are working on accreditation, and there is a clear reason to learn from UNIDO’s accreditation to the GCF understand the roadmap to accreditation.
