Green Climate Fund - Civil Society Readiness: Focus Africa

The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is the most important multilateral instrument for climate financing and focuses its support on the least developed countries, small island states, and African states. The project enhanced existing capacities of African civil society to improve the quality of the GCF project proposals submitted, bringing in on-the-ground expertise and enabling the participatory monitoring of GCF projects. Project activities included, among other things, the organisation of webinars and workshops as well as the preparation of handouts. The project further promoted networking to strengthen the high-level involvement of civil society stakeholders in key African countries. Moreover, the expansion of civil society engagement was encouraged through an exchange of experience at the regional and global levels. The project thus helped embedding GCF-funded activities in a broader societal support for a transformation towards a low-emission and climate-resilient society.

Project data

Countries: Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Ghana, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Morocco, Namibia, Senegal
IKI funding: 2,896,663.15 €
Duration: 05/2016 till 03/2023
Status: completed
Implementing organisation: Germanwatch e.V.
Political Partner: Diverse climate change relevant institutions in the respective partner countries/Diverse klimarelevante Institutionen in den entsprechenden Partnerländern
Implementing Partner: CARE

CARE Germany e.V.
Online: https://www.gcfwatch.org/

https://germanwatch.org/en/home

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State of implementation/results

Project completed.
After a first project phase 2016-2019, the GCF CSO Readiness project has been extended for a second phase until March 2023.
The GCF CSO Toolkit, compiled during the first project phase has been translated into French.
Two English language and two French language online seminars with other CSOs, government and accredited entities’ representatives were organised to promote the Toolkit, with close to 1000 people in attendance to the four seminars.
The project partners have finalised two additional thematic briefs, on the challenges of GCF multi-country projects in Africa and an evaluation of the GCF’s portfolio of projects and programmes in Africa through the lens of the locally led adaptation principles. They will also publish consolidated results of the Monitoring and Evaluation activities.
The project consortium has actively participated in international CSO work on all GCF Board Meetings from B.26 (August 2020) to B.35 (March 2023).
Nine regional online seminars with francophone partners were organized on the topic of the "Role of Civil Society in the GCF" and on the follow-up of these GCF Board meetings. Around 1000 people attended these nine regional online seminars, which included inputs from partner CSOs, active observers representing Africa and the Independent Redress Mechanism (IRM) of the GCF.
A Training of Trainers (ToT) on the GCF was held in Senegal, in February 2022. All project partners participated in the event, which also included representatives from Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger. Module materials, presentations and suggested practical exercises were prepared in both French and English, and are available to trainers. The project partners are now in the process of establishing a community of practice, to continue the work started by the ToT, and support trainers in disseminating knowledge on the GCF.
A Regional Francophone Workshop on the GCF was also organised in Senegal. All francophone partners, as well as other CSOs from Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger and Senegal participated. The workshop was a space to share experiences and knowledge on the implementation of the different roles CSOs play in relation to the GCF’s processes.
The project co-organised a 5 day African Conference on Loss and Damage and Climate Finance in April 2022, in Malawi, with participation from African CSOs, regional and international cooperation agencies and development banks, African negotiators and government representatives.
Other international activities included:
- A francophone Regional online seminar on the theme: “Enhancing the mobilisation of funding and encouraging the participation of national entities in the Green Climate Fund processes (GCF): the role of African regional institutions - Focus on ECOWAS, AfDB and SSO”, on May 5, 2021.
- A side event during the 2021 African Ministers’ for Finance and Economic Planning Conference, in Ethiopia on March 23, 2021. A position from African CSO’s on the GCF investments in the continent was issued.
- A side event during the 2021 Climate Change and Development in Africa (CCDA) conference, in Cabo Verde on September 15, 2021. The event focused on the role of the GCF in Africa’s Just Transition Framework.
- A side event during COP26, at the Moroccan Pavilion, to share initial findings of the CSO-led M&E of GCF projects, with inputs from partners from Morocco, Senegal and Cameroon.
- A side event during the 2022 Africa Climate Week in Gabon, on August 30, on the topic “African CSOs Engagement on Climate Finance for Enhancing Community Resilience”.
- A side event during B.34 of the GCF, in Incheon, to present the results of the policy brief on “Locally Led Adaptation in the Green Climate Fund – Performance across the Fund’s Portfolio in Africa”.
- A side event during COP27 on the topic of “Multi-country evidence and proposals for scaled-up pro-poor and gender-just climate finance” at the German pavilion, on November 8, 2023 and a second event on Locally-led adaptation at the GCF in the Namibia pavilion on November 9, 2023.
- A workshop on the side-lines of the 9th Session of the Africa Regional Forum on Sustainable Development (ARFSD9), in Niamey, Niger, on February 25, 2023, on Monitoring and Evaluation of GCF funded projects in Africa.
- All partners have implemented activities at the national level, including establishing national CSO platform and conducting field visits and community consultations on site of GCF-funded activities.