Presentation of Liane Schalatek, Heinrich Böll Stiftung (HBS), during the webinar "Important topics around the Green Climate Fund (part two)”.

1. Heinrich Böll Stiftung Washington, DC
1638 R Street, NW, Suite 120 Washington, DC 20009, USA us.boell.org
GCF project types,
approaches &
relationship to false
solutions
Liane Schalatek
Heinrich Böll Stiftung Washington, DC
September 6, 2022
Liane.schalatek@us.boell.org

2. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
GCF Portfolio Snapshot – where are we after B33 ?
Number of projects by access modality:
Direct national (26, 13%); direct, regional (18, 9%); international (156, 78%)

3. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
Project Categorizations – Size, Public/Private, Programmatic
GCF programmatic approach
Public vs. private sector
Funding amount by sector (nominal)
NOTE: GCF still lacks a policy on programmatic approaches; many ESS/ transparency/
accountability/participation/country ownership / disclosure challenges
Note: private sector leverage assumptions are often
purely speculative
NOTE: Many ‘public’ projects/programs provide funding support for private sector

4. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
Project Categorization – ESS Risk
ESS disclosure requirements

5. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
Project Approval Process (PAP) & Simplified Approval Process (SAP)
PAP:
• most approved
projects/programs
through PAP (176 of
200 approved so far)
• Concept note is
optional
• For all sizes, ESS risk
categories, public-
private, all financial
instruments
• Comprehensive
documentation
required, including
extensive list of
Annexes
• NOTE: only public-
sector PAP annexes
are made public
SAP:
• Adopted as pilot since
2017, updated at B32:
currently 24 of 200
approved total
projects/programs
• Simplified procedures
with less comprehensive
proposal template (and
fewer annexes) ,
streamlined review,
approval and
disbursement procedures
• Concept note is required
• DAEs encouraged (but
IAEs allowed)
• For micro & small-scale
activities, up to USD 25
million in GCF funding
• Public & private, all
financial instruments
• Only Cat. C/I-3 IC (=no
ESIA required)

6. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
GCF Pilot Programs with separate Request for Proposals (RfPs):
 Enhancing direct access (EDA) – only DAEs,
public and private – USD 200 million pilot; 3
projects/programs for USD 47 million
 Micro-, Small- Medium-sized Enterprises
(MSME) – private sector only – USD 200
million pilot; 3 projects/programs for USD 60
million
 Simplified Approval Process (SAP) – public and
private – 24 projects/programs for USD 217 million
 Mobilising Funding at Scale (MFS) – private sector
only – USD 500 million pilot; 5 projects/programs for
USD 263 million
 REDD-plus Results-based Payments (REDD+ RBP) –
public sector only – USD 500 million pilot; 8 projects for
USD 497 million
Currently, 19 projects/ 10% of GCF funding support approved under 5 pilot programs with separate RfPs:

7. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
Issues and Concerns with Large-Scale/Multi-Country Programs
 GCF portfolio with 35 large-scale projects and programs, of which 20 are multi-country
programs  while percentage of large-scale projects/programs is “small” (only 17%),
majority of GCF approved funding goes to large-scale proposals (top down, removed
from realities on the ground, financialization approach)
 Majority of 20 GCF large-scale multi-country programs are private sector (13) vs.
public sector (7)
 Increased transparency and accountability challenges of private sector proposals:
 Do not publicly disclose any annexes other than Gender Assessment and Gender Action
Plan
 Do not publish the Secretariat assessment of the proposal
 Include many equity investment approaches/financing facilities with several levels of
financial intermediation (difficult to ‘follow the money’)
 Significant challenges of large-scale (private) multi-country programs
 Country Ownership reduced: No-objection letters (NOL) are collected at the framework level –
National Designated Authorities (NDA), give “carte blanche” – no separate NOL for sub-projects
under framework
 Most multi-country programs have only indicative country allocations, if at all = no
guaranteed financial benefits for participating countries
 Reduced due diligence/oversight : ESS assessment done at a framework level (with
Environmental and Social Management Framework, ESMF (not clear if this includes FPIC)
 sub-project level ESS often not disclosed via GCF
 Often no or insufficient consultation of stakeholders (including CSOs, IPs, local
communities) at framework level -- > justification: will happen at sub-project level

8. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director
GCF Funding Relationship to False Solutions
• GCF has no exclusion list of funding approaches (despite continued GCF Observer Network
push)
• GCF Governing Instruments explicitly names (= allows for) Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS)
to be funded (so far no funding proposal received, although some private sector equity
investment suggested inclusion before GCF Observer Network push to have it excluded at
program level) – continuation of fossil fuel engagement/support
• REDD+ RBP and private sector forestry projects have supported monoculture forestry
approaches (example FP125 Arbaro Fund, MFS , equity investment approach)
• While GCF (currently) does not (yet) allow sale of certified emissions reductions (CERs) via
carbon markets, several approved proposals support carbon market development
• Unclear definition and understanding of ‘nature-based solutions’ (instead of focus on
ecosystem-based approaches) and ‘climate –smart agriculture’  Board members have
pushed back on use of language, although approaches are not necessarily excluded
• Concern about focus on ‘greening infrastructure’ where instead gray infrastructure is
supported
• Focus on private sector leverage and financialization approach (creation of new asset classes,
increased use of equity) over country ownership, sustainable development impacts and local
benefits

9. The Green Political Foundation Liane Schalatek, Associate Director 9
Further Information:
Heinrich Böll Stiftung Washington, DC, Climate Policy and Finance:
http://us.boell.org/categories/climate-policy-finance
GCFWatch: https://www.gcfwatch.org/
Climate Funds Update: https://climatefundsupdate.org/
Climate Finance Fundamentals Series, including CFF11 on GCF (in EN, FR, ES):
https://climatefundsupdate.org/about-climate-finance/climate-finance-fundamentals/
THANK YOU!!!