THE GREEN Climate Fund (GCF) has approved $1 billion worth of climate-related projects worldwide, of which $4.14 million will support Philippine “green entrepreneurs,” the Department of Finance (DoF) said.
A total of 17 funding proposals for adaptation and mitigation projects, as well as six new accredited entities were approved by the GCF Board in its recent meeting, the DoF said in a statement.
The proposals cover coastal resilience, sustainable agricultural systems, ecosystem restoration, and climate technologies.
Among the approved projects was the regional $221.22-million Collaborative Research and Development Business (R&DB) Programme for Promoting the Innovation of Climate Technopreneurship.
The project aims to support technology transfer and improve the ecosystem for climate technology by empowering entrepreneurs in the Philippines, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, and Vietnam.
The five countries will each receive $4.14 million, DoF said.
“The Programme will be divided among the recipient countries, allowing Philippine green entrepreneurs to leverage global technological expertise, thus accelerating climate-resilient development in the country,” it added.
Of the total cost, $104.47 million will be financed by GCF grants and equity, while the remaining $116.74 million provided by co-financer contributions.
This brings the GCF’s total grants to the Philippines to $139.9 million, of which $137.7 million consisted of project grants.
The Philippines is currently implementing four readiness activities with the GCF, the DoF also said.
The Readiness and Preparatory Support Program (RPSP) builds the capacity at the DoF as the National Designated Authority (NDA) in developing a monitoring, reporting and verification framework, conducting country portfolio analysis, establishing a GCF Philippines website, launching training modules, training project development personnel, and organizing a national stakeholder conference.
RPSP 2 aims to strengthen the capacities of the Land Bank of the Philippines (LANDBANK) and Development Bank of the Philippines (DBP) as Direct Access Entities developing high-quality project concept notes.
The Climate Resilient Recovery Readiness Support assists government agencies in integrating climate-resilient strategies in paradigm-shifting projects.
Finally, the Agriculture Sector Readiness promotes climate finance mechanisms and implements the Koronivia Joint Work on Agriculture priorities in Southeast Asia through knowledge sharing.
Finance Undersecretary Maria Luwalhati C. Dorotan Tiuseco also showed support for the mainstreaming of REDD+ results-based payments, “which will allow to integrate the funding modality into the regular project and program activity cycle of the Fund.” — Beatriz Marie D. Cruz
