Access to funding for climate change will be made flexible – UNFCC
Mr Kyekyeku Yaw Oppong Boadi, Focal Person for the United Nations Framework Convention on climate change (UNFCCC) on Tuesday expressed the hope that developed countries were likely to make accessing the fund more flexible.
This is because accessibility to funding is an issue adding that the process is very complex and this was discussed at length at the 23rd conference of Parties to the UNFCCC in Bonn, Germany in November 2017.
Mr Boadi was speaking at a day’s 2017 post-COP23 climate change stocktaking colloquium in Accra attended by stakeholders from various institutions.
He said as a result of the discussions, the Global Environment Facility is trying to develop a policy for giving out loans for climate change issues in addition to loans for other projects.
He noted that issues about the Green Climate Fund was also tabled for discussion because it was argued that accessing funding from this fund is very complex and explained that accessing it is not just about writing proposals and submitting, but there are other requirements that must be met before a proposal is accepted and approved.
He explained that countries need to submit good bankable projects and set up development projects that should be separated from climate change projects.
Mr Boadi called for free flow of information and simplification of the issues so that interested individuals and corporate groups could come out with bankable projects.
He added that information should also be shared with the districts as well as other stakeholders and civil society groups on how to handle climate change.
He said the science of climate change is very important, entreating everyone to embrace the issues of climate and see how best to handle it so that the livelihood of the people will improve.
Mr Amoah Antwi Boasiako, of the Environmental Protection Agency said that 38 countries including Ghana have submitted proposals out of which 10 have been approved and are at various stages in the negotiation process noting however that Ghana was not part of the ten approved ones.
Source: GNA