The Adaptation Fund (AF) with an overall goal to support concrete ‘adaptation activities that reduce the adverse effects of climate change facing communities, countries, and sectors’ is a result of negotiations in Bali during COP-13. The criteria for projects under adaptation fund will be level of vulnerability, level of urgency and risks arising from delay, ensuring access to the fund in a balanced and equitable manner, lessons learned in project and programme design and implementation to be captured, securing regional co-benefits to the extent possible, where applicable, maximizing multi-sectoral or cross-sectoral benefit and adaptive capacity to the adverse effects of climate change. Two type of funding would be available i.e. small-size projects and programmes (proposals requesting up to $1 million); and regular projects and programmes (proposals requesting over $1million). The AF will be only funding projects endorsed by the requesting government.

According to the Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board (AFB) hundreds of billions dollars would be required annually to meet the Climate Change (CC) adaptation requirements of the world. So far the funding mechanism of AF i.e. by the monetization of certified emission reductions (CERs), will produce around 500 million USD till 2012. Considering that the catering of CC adaptation needs would require a lot of attention in 2012 post scenario, mere 500 million USD would be opening another set of issues.

Apart from the funding, parties like India, Bangladesh, Nigeria etc along with the civil society has serious concerns regarding Global Environment Fund (GEF) handling the adaptation funds. In explicit terms it has brought out that instead of GEF, which has a non-proven track record, let there be an independent body to handle the adaptation funds.

Parties like Germany are trying to convert their Offical Development Assistance (ODA) into the adaptation funds. Serious voices of concern have been raised in COP-15 around the issues.

Above mentioned issues were raised by Gender CC on December 9th, 2009, in a statement at the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). GenderCC in its statement also showed its concerns regarding the gender neutral procedures of the adaptation fund.

Statement would be soon available at the web site of GenderCC (http://www.gendercc.net).

Maira
09 December 2009
Copenhagen