Africa Direct Access Entities: Technical Workshop on improving climate information and analysis for Green Climate Fund proposals in Africa

The Global Center for Adaptation and the African Development Bank are organizing a two-day technical training program for Green Climate Fund Direct Access Entities from Africa

Event description:

Climate finance flows to Africa falls dramatically short of what is needed to implement Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the region. An average of US$ 29.5 billion in climate finance was committed to Africa in 2019 and 2020, far below what is needed to address climate change impacts. In addition, around 39% of the pledges, USD 11.4 billion, were earmarked for adaptation activities.

The needs of African countries for financing adaptation to the impacts of climate change are significant and cannot be covered by a single financial mechanism. Actions to close the adaptation financing gap must therefore target multiple sources, both public and private, international, and domestic, while exploiting complementarities.

Given the central role of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the unprecedented volumes of funding it offers, the range of financial instruments it provides, and its blended funding strategy, countries are focusing on accessing GCF resources. In addition to the international access modality, the GCF has adopted the groundbreaking innovation of Direct Access. This path allows developing countries to access finance without having to go through the international intermediaries that dominate other sources of funds, making finance more accessible while also providing these entities with the opportunity and resources to strengthen internal systems and more effectively integrate climate change into their operations.

Unfortunately, African Direct Access Entities (DAEs) have significant capacity constraints in accessing GCF resources effectively and efficiently. They are also unable to address these capacity gaps with their current resources and capabilities.

To address this need, the Global Center for Adaptation (GCA) and the African Development Bank (AfDB) are organizing a two-day technical training program for DAEs from Africa. The goal of this training is to provide information and technical support to DAEs to improve the robustness of the climate science basis in developing adaptation concept notes and funding proposals for the GCF. The initiative will also provide the best platform for DAEs to receive technical assistance while also learning best practices from others in the region.

GCA will provide funding to support the development of compelling adaptation projects in order to scale up adaptation finance in the region. GCA will also inform decision-making in the region by presenting the rationale for adaptation and translating climate data and risk analyses into adaptation-related interventions (for new projects as well as existing programs and projects).