Access to funding for climate change to be made flexible

Focal Person for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC, has expressed the hope that access to funding for climate change were likely to be made flexible for developing countries.

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.

Kyekyeku Yaw Oppong Boadi was speaking at a day’s 2017 post-COP23 climate change stocktaking colloquium in Accra attended by stakeholders from various institutions.  

{loadmodule mod_banners,nativeads}

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.