From Monday, February 26, to Thursday, March 1, the Board of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) will meet for its nineteenth meeting (B.19) in Songdo, South Korea. Among the issues on the agenda are key policies to protect the environment and the rights of indigenous peoples, women, and local communities in GCF-funded projects. CIEL and other civil society groups urge the GCF to adopt these policies without delay.
Created at UN climate negotiations in 2010, the Green Climate Fund aims to channel billions of dollars into developing countries to tackle climate change through mitigation and adaptation projects.
So far, the GCF has approved and begun funding 54 projects. It has done so despite having yet to adopt its own permanent policies and safeguards to ensure that these projects respect human rights, protect the environment, and engage local communities. Such policies are essential to achieve meaningful sustainable development.
Twenty-three projects are up for approval at B.19. A number of those projects could have negative impacts on local communities and ecosystems — underscoring the urgent need for the GCF to adopt clear, consistent policies to protect human rights and the environment.
After a long process of collaboration and input by civil society and other stakeholders, the GCF has proposed an Environmental and Social Policy (ESP), Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy and Action Plan, and Indigenous Peoples Policy (IPP). Broadly, these policies represent movement toward a human rights-based approach to GCF operations and best-practice safeguards for affected people and ecosystems. These policies are critical and should be approved at this meeting.
Other urgent, pending discussions and approvals include those surrounding the work plan and budget of the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM), which is the avenue for communities and people harmed by GCF projects to seek remedy, and the allocation of adequate budgeting and staffing to ensure the proposed policies are properly and fully implemented.
The adoption of the ESP, GESI, and IPP at B.19 would be a leap forward in ensuring that GCF-funded projects not only do no harm but also provide real benefits for communities and the environment. Therefore, we encourage the GCF to adopt the proposed policies without delay, and we look forward to the development of further safeguards to ensure that GCF-funded projects are aligned with these essential principles both on paper and in practice.
By Marie Mekosh
Originally posted on February 26, 2018