Climate fund chief targets vulnerable countries

Green Climate Fund (GCF) chief Mafalda Duarte is on a mission to help vulnerable nations that have yet to receive a penny from the world’s largest dedicated source of climate finance.

The United Nations’ flagship organisation for chanelling climate funding was set up for developing countries worst hit by climate impacts even if they are least responsible for carbon pollution that drives warming.

Money disbursed helps nations to draw down their greenhouse gas emissions, on the one hand, and adapt to storms, droughts and heatwaves made worse by climate change, along with sea level rise, on the other. The fund, which began doling out grants a decade ago, has identified 19 climate-vulnerable nations that have received no or very limited funding. “We are deliberately targeting those,” Ms. Duarte said, taking stock of her first year in charge and outlining her ambitions.

The GCF’s priority target list includes Algeria, the Central African Republic, Chad, Iraq, Lebanon, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and South Sudan.

“Our goal is to equip the organisation such that it becomes a partner of choice for the most vulnerable… and that it delivers where the funds are most needed,” said the Portuguese development economist. Also on the list is war-torn Somalia, hit by major floods last year and still reeling from its worst drought in decades. The GCF has pledged to invest more than $100 million over the next year to help the East African nation unlock investments and develop climate projects.