Asia-Pacific Regional Clinic Cassie Flynn – 6 September 2012

 What is a National Climate Fund?  Why are National Climate Funds important?  How do they (generally) operate?

An NCF is a tool that supports countries to direct finance toward climate change projects and programmes by facilitating the collection, combining/blending, coordination of, and accounting for climate finance.

 Countries are in the driving seat: NCFs are nationally-owned and nationally-driven.  NCFs vary in:  Type (e.g. sinking fund, revolving fund or endowment)  Structure (e.g. governance, operations)  Size  Objectives  Beneficiaries (e.g. government ministries, local communities, private sector, civil society)

By pledging $30 billion in fast start finance and up to $100 billion annually by 2020, governments have ushered in a new era of climate change finance. More opportunities exist that ever before to help countries achieve their climate change objectives.  More than 50 international public funds, 45 carbon markets and 6,000 private equity funds Countries are faced with the challenge of how to identify which funds are appropriate for them, how to access them, how to coordinate the actions funded by them, and how to monitor and evaluate the results.

 NCFs can:  Collect, coordinate, combine/blend and account for climate finance  Support readiness for climate finance, including planning, accessing, delivering and monitoring funds. This is important in the context of the Green Climate Fund.  Direct resources to strategic priorities on climate change.  Serve as a tool to leverage public finance to attract private investment.  Build capacities for climate finance management, including for “direct access.”.  Ensure transparency and accountability for climate change finance.  Create enabling environments and support demonstration projects.

Support goal setting and the development of programmatic strategies Fundraise Manage partnerships Provide project approval and support implementation Supply policy assurance Provide financial control Manage performance measurement, including monitoring and reporting on activities and resource disbursement Support knowledge exchange and management

 Well-designed NCFs can support countries to achieve their climate and development objectives within the country context  Designing an NCF can demand extensive time, effort and resources  Objectives, objectives, objectives!  Capacity building integrated into the design, to build robust systems and human resources over time.

Blending Climate Finance Through National Climate Funds: A Guidebook for the Design and Establishment of National Funds to Achieve Climate Change Priorities Catalyzing Climate Finance – A Guidebook on Policy and Financing Options to Support Green, Low-Emission and Climate-Resilient Development Documents and case studies for the RBAP Regional Clinic on NCFs