January 2020 | Issue 5
ADAPTATION FINANCE BULLETIN
UNFCCC Adaptation Committee
The UNFCCC Adaptation Finance Bulletin provides the latest news and updates to Parties and other interested stakeholders on adaptation finance-related information from funds, UNFCCC bodies and negotiations, as well as an overview of relevant upcoming events.
Relevant Upcoming Events

10 - 12 March 2020 |  25 th Meeting of the Green Climate Fund Board, Songdo, Incheon, Republic of Korea

18 – 20 March 2020    |   22 nd Meeting of the UNFCCC Standing Committee on Finance, Bonn, Germany

24 – 27 March 2020    |   17 th Meeting of the Adaptation Committee, Bonn, Germany

30 March - 3 April 2020 | NAP Expo 2020, Gaborone, Botswana

31 March – 3 April 2020    |   35 th Meeting of the Adaptation Fund Board, Bonn, Germany

1 April 2020   |   Adaptation Fund Climate Finance Readiness Webinar #10

2 - 4 June 2020    |   GEF 58 th Council Meeting
Adaptation Finance Quick Facts
The Adaptation Fund estimates its impact to date in terms of USD 720 million allocated to adaptation activities, 271 680 ha of natural habitats preserved or restored, 100 concrete, localized adaptation projects , and 8 million direct beneficiaries in developing countries.

The Green Climate Fund portfolio now includes 124 projects with an estimated 348 million beneficiaries with increased resilience. Approximately 24% of their funding is dedicated to adaptation, and 34% of their funding is dedicated to crosscutting targets.

Since 2001, the GEF has provided over USD 1.5 billion in grant financing and mobilized more than USD 7 billion from other sources for 330 adaptation projects in 130 countries , including all LDCs and 33 small island developing states. These projects are expected to directly reduce the vulnerability of at least 11 million people .
News from the Green Climate Fund
Photo by UN Climate Change
COP 25 decides on enhancing support for adaptation
Last month in Madrid, COP 25 agreed on several decisions relating to finance for climate change adaptation. The decision on Guidance to the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for example, encourages the GCF “to continue to enhance its support for adaptation” and requests the GCF to “swiftly conclude its work on guidance on the approach and scope for providing support to adaptation activities” and “continue to enhance its support for the implementation of national adaptation plans.”   
New online course on accessing GCF's Simplified Approval Process
Are you wondering how to develop funding proposals for the GCF’s Simplified Approval Process? Also at COP 25, the GCF launched its first e-learning course focusing on this question, with the goal of enabling easier access to the Fund’s resources.
Photo by IISD/ENB | Kiara Worth/Diego Noguera
GCF Support to Adaptation in 2019
More broadly, 2019 was an important year for the GCF. In relation to adaptation, projects approved in 2019 are expected to boost the climate resilience of 79 million people in communities most at risk from climate change impacts.  
News from the Global Environment Facility
Photo by IISD/ENB | Francis Dejon
57 th GEF Council Meeting sets stage to boost resilience-build in least developed countries
At the 57 th GEF Council Meeting, which took place from 16-19 December 2019, saw governments approve more than USD 600 million for two new work programs that include, among other things, advancing climate change resilience-building efforts in least developed countries. This meeting also saw the joint council of the Least Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund approve a USD 64.8 million work program for adaptation in the poorest countries.
Future success of private sector will depend on how successfully it can adapt to climate change
“Adaptation can open up new markets and provide a much-needed booster shot for the global economy. It is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do,” Naoko Ishii, CEO and Chairperson of the GEF, along with Feike Sijbesma, CEO of Royal DSM, wrote in November.
News from the Adaptation Fund
Photo by the Adaptation Fund
Adaptation Fund at COP 25: New pledges and greater stability
With new pledges made at COP 25, the Adaptation Fund reached close to USD 90 million in new pledges for 2019 from 11 different national and regional governments.

At COP 25, Parties to the CMP amended the terms and conditions of the World Bank’s function as interim trustee of the Fund; this arrangement is now open-ended, and no longer requires periodic extensions, which increases predictability and lowers the risk of interruptions in the ongoing work of the Fund.

Further bolstering the Fund’s stability, Parties to the CMP also decided there will be no end-date to the memorandum of understanding on the GEF hosting the Adaptation Fund’s secretariat.
New offerings from the Adaptation Fund
Photo by the Adaptation Fund
During COP 25, the Adaptation Fund also announced the launch of a new USD 10 million pilot innovation programme.It will foster innovation in adaptation in developing countries, and will target a broad range of potential finance recipients, including non-governmental organizations, community groups, young innovators and the private sector.
Photo by the Adaptation Fund
Do you want to learn more about the Adaptation Fund's accreditation process? Or about its project design and implementation processes? A new e-learning course launched by the Adaptation Fund aiming to help prospective national implementing entities to achieve accreditation and develop projects under the Direct Access modality answers these questions.
Progress in Financial Support for NAPs
As at 3 December 2019, 83 proposals (32 from LDCs) have been submitted by 81 developing countries to access funding for the formulation of NAPs from the GCF’s Readiness and Preparatory Support Programme. Of these, 29 (10 from LDCs) at the time had received funds from the GCF.
 
Under the GEF’s Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF), as at 31 October, eight project proposals had been approved relating to the process to formulate and implement of NAPs.
Latest from the Adaptation Committee
Are you curious about the history of adaptation under the UNFCCC, including the evolution of adaptation finance provided through the funds connected with the process? Check out the Adaptation Committee’s 2019 flagship report on 25 Years of Adaptation Under the UNFCCC .

Want to learn more about the Adaptation Committee and its 2019 activities, including on the topic of finance? The Committee’s 2019 Report Infographic is the best place to start.
New developments under the Warsaw International Mechanism for loss and damage
Expert group on action and support to be established in 2020
In Madrid, the COP and CMA requested that the Executive Committee of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and Damage establish a new expert group by the end of 2020. This new expert group will support the Warsaw International Mechanism's function of enhancing action and support, including finance, technology and capacity- building, to address loss and damage associated with the adverse effects of climate change.
Photo by UN Climate Change
Updates from the Standing Committee on Finance
SCF seeking information and data for 2020 report
The SCF has issued a call for evidence in relation to their 2020 report on the determination of the needs of developing country Parties related to implementing the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

Available reports, assessment outcomes, data sets and other materials should be submitted by 28 February 2020 via email to standingcommittee@unfccc.int.
UNFCCC ADAPTATION COMMITTEE | https://unfccc.int/Adaptation-Committee