By Pita Ligaiula
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) says half of its climate finance is directed to adaptation, but Executive Director Mafalda Duarte acknowledges the funding remains far below what Pacific island countries need as climate impacts intensify.
In an interview with PACNEWS in Palau last week, Duarte said the GCF was doing more on adaptation than most global climate finance institutions.
“We are actually doing more than most,” Duarte said.
She highlighted the GCF’s 50-50 allocation between adaptation and mitigation, saying the Fund currently has about US$20 billion invested.
“The board at some point, back in some years, really provided this clear guidance that we needed to do 50 percent adaptation,” she said.
Duarte said this meant more than US$10 billion of GCF investment was going towards resilience and adaptation.
“It’s not enough,” she told PACNEWS
Duarte said the GCF supported the global call to triple adaptation finance because the needs of developing countries were continuing to grow.
“We know that, in fact, we are quite aligned with the call to triple global adaptation finance because we see the needs and we see the needs increasing,” she said.
However, Duarte said the GCF’s allocation demonstrated that targeted decisions on climate finance could shift resources towards adaptation.
“We are actually a positive story in terms of this financial system,” she said.
She said more than 60 percent of the GCF’s adaptation financing was directed to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), Least Developed Countries (LDCs) and African countries.
Duarte highlighted the gap faced by SIDS, which she said normally receive less than two percent of global adaptation finance flows.
Within the GCF, however, SIDS receive about 11 percent of its financing.
“So it’s quite significant,” Duarte said.
She said the difference showed the impact that clear political and institutional targets could have on the distribution of climate finance.
“This just shows the importance, which has been a call from SIDS as well,” she said.
Duarte said decisions by the GCF Board to set specific allocation targets had helped drive the Fund’s investment priorities.
“When certain decisions are made of X percent allocated to specific goals or certain parameters, that drives the institutions to accomplish such goals,” she said.
“And this is exactly what is happening with us.”
For Pacific island countries, adaptation remains a major priority as rising sea levels, extreme weather, changing rainfall patterns and other climate impacts threaten infrastructure, food security, water supplies and livelihoods.
Duarte said the GCF would continue to increase its focus on adaptation as global demand for resilience finance grows.
