GEF Funding for Adaptation to Climate Change

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• GEF Funding for Adaptation to Climate Change
• By Lars Christiansen
• Program Assistant - Climate Change Adaptation
• Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• Prepared for REC workshop Adaptation to the
  Consequences of the Climate Change progress
  achieved and capacity building needed

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Outline of presentation

• Background on the GEF and Adaptation
• Relevant funding sources for the region SPA and
  SCCF
• Priority areas
• Current status and funds available
• (Examples of projects)
• How to apply for GEF funding
• From project idea to implementation brief
  overview of the GEF project cycle
• Key modalities for SPA and the new funds
• GEF experience with adaptation and challenges to
  come
• Questions

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Background on the GEF and Adaptation

• The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was
  established in the early 1990s to provide new and
  additional financing for projects and programs
  that would address development needs and at the
  same time would protect the global environment.
• As the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, the GEF
  has been working under convention guidance to
  implement COP decisions on adaptation.
• Initial guidance (COP 1, COP4) focused on
  Enabling Activities such as funds for VA
  assessments and capacity building for preparation
  of national communications.
• Recent guidance (COP 7 ?) has emphasized
  implementation leading to the establishment of
  the strategic priority for adaptation under the
  GEF trust fund, and two newly established funds
  (SCCF and LDCF) operated separately from the GEF
  Trust Fund.

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Background on the GEF and Adaptation

• General approach The GEF supports interventions
  that increase resilience to the adverse impacts
  of climate change on vulnerable countries,
  sectors, and communities
• The underlying thought behind GEFs approach is
  that the adverse impacts of climate change impose
  an additional cost on vulnerable countries to
  meet their development goals ? GEF supplies the
  funding to overcome this additional cost.
• Total funds made available for Adaptation - 275
  M (total pledges)
• Adaptation a suite of complementary Funds
• Strategic Priority on Adaptation (SPA) (GEF
  Trust Fund)
• Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) (UNFCCC)
  
• Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) (UNFCCC)
• Under Discussion
• Adaptation Fund of the Kyoto Protocol

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Background on the GEF and Adaptation

• Three funding sources for Adaptation under the GEF

GEF Assistance to Address Adaptation
GEF Trust Fund Strategic Priority Piloting an
Operational Approach to Adaptation (SPA)
Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF) (implementatio
n of NAPAs) NO GLOBAL BENEFITS
Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) Top priority
to Adaptation NO GLOBAL BENEFITS
Total 57M Remaining 0M
Total 165M Remaining 135M
Total 50M Remaining 4M
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Background on the GEF and Adaptation
SPA SCCF LDCF
Priority GEBs Human development Human Development
Amount of adaptation costs paid by fund Full cost Full Cost Full Cost
Eligibility All UNFCCC parties eligible for GEF funding All non Annex I UNFCCC parties LDCs who are also UNFCCC parties
Supreme body GEF council SCCF/LDCF council SCCF/LDCF council
Replenishment One time (to be evaluated by council at completion) Rolling (by donors) Rolling (by donors)
Funds available for adaptation activities (still to allocated). 50 million (4 million) 57 million (0 million) 165 million (130 million)
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Piloting an Operational Approach to Adaptation
(SPA)

• The SPA was established as a strategic priority
  under the GEF Trust Fund as response to guidance
  from UNFCCC at COP7.
• 50 million initial allocation, currently 46
  million have been committed to projects gt after
  an evaluation of the pilot the program will
  evolve/be replenished.
• Primary focus must be on the protection of Global
  Environmental benefits in the GEF focal areas
  (Biodiversity, CC mitigation, Land Degradation,
  International Waters and POPs) ? Typically
  mainstreaming of adaptation into existing (GEF)
  development/environment project.
• Must include on-the-ground pilot adaptation
  actions (as opposed to pure capacity building
  and/or studies)

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Piloting an Operational Approach to Adaptation
(SPA)

• 18 Approved projects Total 46 million
• More projects are approaching likely that
  portfolio will be completed late 2007, early
  2008.
• Primarily targets Africa, South/Southeast Asia
  and Latin America, but also a few projects in
  Central and Eastern Europe (Hungary, Albania and
  Armenia)

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SPA Examples of projects in Central and Eastern
Europe
ALBANIA Drini-Mati River Delta

• CC Vulnerabilities
• More frequent and longer flooding events in
  coastal zone ? severe stress on unique
  biodiversity depending on the delta ecosystem.
• ?
• Adaptation Actions
• Development of monitoring and forecasting
  capacity
• Mainstreaming of adaptation concerns into
  conservation and development plans, programs and
  policies (e.g. the plan to expand the protected
  area).
• A suite of pilot adaptation actions to promote
  learning and upscaling (to be identified).
• ?
• Outcomes
• Adaptation concerns are integrated into all
  coming conservation and development efforts in
  the DMRD, thus increasing the CC resilience of a
  key global ecosystem

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SPA Examples of projects in Central and Eastern
Europe
HUNGARY Lake Balaton

• CC Vulnerabilities
• Negative water balance leading to falling water
  level in shallow lake. Complex causes, but CC
  thought to be important contributor.
• Unique biodiversity as well as agricultural and
  tourism economies under pressure.
• ?
• Adaptation Actions
• Capacity building to increase understanding of
  watershed and lake processes in response to
  climate change
• Strengthened organizational and individual
  capacities for interpreting and addressing
  approaching CC vulnerabilities
• Adaptation mainstreamed into all policies and
  planning for the lake area
• A suite of local pilot activities to facilitate
  learning and replication.
• ?
• Outcomes
• A better understanding of the Lake Balaton system
  in relation to CC (ecological and socio economic
  aspects) , and how to effectively implement
  policy-making and adaptation measures in this
  context. ? Decreased CC vulnerability of
  ecosystems and local economies

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Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)

• The SCCF was created as a special fund under the
  UNFCCC, administered by the GEF, but separately
  from the GEF Trust Fund.
• (a) top priority adaptation
• Targets human development in the following
  priority areas Water, land management,
  agriculture, health, infrastructure development,
  fragile ecosystems, integrated coastal zone
  management, disaster risk management and
  prevention
• Total resources for adaptation, including new
  pledges 57 million
• All resources have been programmed

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Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)

• 10 projects approved or under approval Total
  48 million
• Pipeline currently holds some 65 million worth
  of additional projects, and due to lacking
  replenishment the pipeline is currently closed
  for new submissions. As soon as funds become
  available the pipeline will reopen.
• All non-annex I countries are eligible, but
  funding has this far primarily been directed to
  low income countries in Africa, Asia and Latin
  America. No current projects in Central and
  Eastern Europe although several countries would
  be eligible.

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How to apply for funding through the SPA/SCCF

• The GEF Trust Fund and SCCF/LDCF works with 10
  implementing GEF agencies AfDB, ADB, EBRD, FAO,
  IDB, IFAD, UNDP, UNEP, UNIDO and WB.
• Projects must be submitted through GEF agencies.
• For Medium Sized Projects (lt 2 million),
  projects are submitted and approved on a rolling
  basis.
• For Full sized projects (gt 2 million), projects
  are submitted in certain windows every 3 months
  for inclusion in a work program approved by the
  GEF council.
• The GEF Secretariat reviews proposals on a
  rolling basis, and usually makes a decision
  within 10 days of receiving proposals.

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From project idea to implementation

• Formulation of project idea What is it that
  needs to be done differently because of global
  warming, and how do we go about doing it??
• Consultation with GEF agency
• Submission of PIF (3-4 pages briefly describing
  the project idea, structure and outcomes of the
  proposed project)
• GEF secretariat reviews PIF, and ensures that
  project conforms to the criteria of the fund
• Project is approved by the GEF CEO and Council
• (Optional submission of request for project
  preparation funding)
• Submission of final project document
• GEF secretariat reviews final project document,
  and ensures that project conforms to criteria of
  fund and lives up to GEF fiduciary standards.
• Project is endorsed by GEF CEO and Council
• Implementation starts

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Modalities for SPA and new funds

• GEF TRUST FUND (SPA)
• Incremental cost
• Global benefits
• RAF (but not in SPA!)
• Co-financing
• FULL COST Existing development financing
  (resources already present in the country) can be
  used as co-financing

• New FUNDS
• (LDCF SCCF)
• Additional cost
• Sliding scale (optional)
• NO RAF
• NO Global benefits
• Stand alone activities are possible (but rare)
• FULL COST Existing development financing
  (resources already present in the country) can be
  used as co-financing

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Additional/incremental costs approach

• The additional/incremental cost approach
  includes
• A baseline scenario gt what development
  activities would be undertaken also in absence of
  cc (baseline costs)
• An adaptation scenario gt which includes
  additional activities to be implemented to
  address the adverse impacts of climate change in
  the vulnerable sector selected for the project
  (baseline costs additional costs)
• Eligible funding Adaptation scenario costs
  baseline scenario costs
• For the SCCF a sliding scale may be used to
  simplify the determination of additional costs

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Adaptation some experiences from GEF

• How to estimate the costs of adaptation?
  Additional costs sounds simple on paper, but is
  anything but simple in a complicated reality.
• The challenge is not so much how to improve the
  quality and funding for individual adaptation
  projects, but rather how to mainstream adaptation
  concerns into general development and
  policymaking.
• More information, data and experiences are
  definitely neededbut many existing good
  practices and local knowledge to cope with
  current climate stresses already exists
• gt there is enough knowledge and expertise on the
  ground to start implementing adaptation!

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• THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!
• GEF Adaptation-related papers
• www.thegef.org
• GEF projects database
• www.gefonline.org