Members of Staff of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre are currently participating in the The Green Climate Fund’s Structured Dialogue with the Caribbean held in Placencia, Belize, from June 19-22, 2017. The Structured Dialogue is organized in collaboration with the Government of Belize and the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre with the intention to bring together key stakeholders to increase the involvement of Caribbean countries with the GCF.
Participation of countries in the Caribbean region includes Ministers, senior government officials, including representatives of the GCF National Designated Authorities (NDAs) and Focal Points, Accredited Entities, Readiness delivery partners, civil society organizations, private sector representatives, GCF Board Members and Secretariat staff among others.
The four-day gathering provides an opportunity for countries and Accredited Entities to share their experiences in engaging with the Fund across key areas. It is also aimed at developing a roadmap for countries in the region through identification of project opportunities in partnership with Accredited Entities, as well as mapping readiness and project preparation support needs that the GCF can provide. The CCCCC welcome this opportunity to engage with the countries and entities present at the meeting and look forward to collaborating on project preparation and implementation.
Dr. Donneil Cain, Project Development Specialist at the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre gave a brief overview of the CCCCC entity work programme development, which highlighted how the CCCCC develops their work programme; the process of the development of inputs into the work programme; addressing the challenges in developing the work programme; as well as identified ways in which the GCF could help support this process.
He highlighted that the Centre’s work programme is guided by the priority of CARICOM countries as well as the Regional Framework and Implementation Plan, which outlines the strategic direction for the region’s response to climate change risks. Projects are aligned with both national and regional strategies and plans. Climate modeling and information are also critical inputs into developing projects for our work programme. This important for building the climate change case.
Dr. Cain also identified that there are capacity constraints within the CCCCC but through coordination and collaboration, CCCCC is helping countries develop GCF ready programmes and projects. CCCCC acts as a conduit in the dissemination of relevant information to help this process and is committed to helping countries development priority programmes and projects.
The CCCCC is accredited for programmes/project value at between US$10 million and US$50 million; however, even when scaled, some of our adaptation projects would not fall within the range identified. Against this background, Dr. Cain suggested that Enhance Direct Access (EDA) facility, which is an on-granting facility, is important to delivering some adaptation initiatives in the region given their scope and scale.
On Wednesday, Dr. Mark Bynoe will expand to give details about CCCCC pipeline projects as well as identify project opportunities for the region.
The CCCCC expectations for the Structured Dialogue are:
- Government and NDA will have a better understanding of the GCF processes and requirements for accessing funding from the GCF; and,
- enhanced collaboration between entities and countries to advance adaptation and mitigation projects in the region.
