Green Climate Fund says 'in great shape' to push for new cash

(Reuters, 28 Feb 2019) The fund appointed a new executive director, and approved new projects and policies this week, as it sets out to raise fresh funds.

The Green Climate Fund, set up to channel billions of dollars for poor nations to combat climate change, has smoothed over board divisions that had threatened to derail it, paving the way to refill its coffers this year, its leaders and observers said.

The fund, to which donor governments initially pledged more than $10 billion, said on Thursday after meeting this week its 24-member board was now in a stronger position to pursue its first replenishment, due to be completed in October.

On Monday, the Green Climate Fund (GCF) selected Yannick Glemarec, a French national who has held senior roles at U.N. agencies, as its new executive director.

His predecessor quit suddenly at a fractious board meeting last July, where disagreements between representatives from developed and developing nations over how to spend the fund's resources meant no projects were approved.

This week, the board allocated $440 million for nine new projects, from boosting investment in solar power in West Africa to promoting clean cooking in Kenya and Senegal.

It also agreed to provide $122.5 million to help developing countries get ready to apply for and deploy GCF funding.

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Reuters, 28 Feb 2019: Green Climate Fund says 'in great shape' to push for new cash