Canada announces $450 million for the Green Climate Fund, the world’s largest dedicated climate change fund

Press Release

From: Environment and Climate Change Canada

July 12, 2023

Today, ahead of the seventh Ministerial on Climate Action (MoCA7), the Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change, on behalf of the Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada, announced a $450 million contribution to the second replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the world’s largest dedicated climate change fund and a critical funding mechanism of the Paris Agreement.

This contribution is a 50 percent increase from Canada’s 2019 pledge to the GCF’s first replenishment. This funding, which is a part of Canada’s $5.3 billion climate finance commitment, will directly support developing countries’ clean energy transitions and climate-resilient sustainable development as more extreme climate impacts are being felt around the globe. Through its contribution to the GCF, Canada is helping lead the clean energy transition and meet the 1.5 degrees Celsius climate target. Funding announced today could, for example, enable the advancement of clean and renewable energy projects in Indonesia and across the Southeast Asia region, aiding countries as they drive transition from coal-fired power. Helping achieve this transition is a key element of Canada’s support for the region as part of its Indo-Pacific Strategy.

Following the adoption of the Kunming-Montréal Global Biodiversity Framework, Canada welcomes the GCF’s leadership in supporting developing countries’ actions to conserve, restore and protect nature and biodiversity.

In 2022, Minister Guilbeault and Jennifer Morgan, German State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, published the Climate Finance Delivery Plan Progress Report, which outlines the steps contributors are taking to meet the goal this year, and are continuing the dialogue with other countries to ensure their commitments are upheld.

Quotes

“Canada remains committed to support partners in the Global South fight climate change, while addressing biodiversity loss around the world. By increasing our contribution by 50 percent, we demonstrate our trust to the Green Climate Fund’s efforts in funding innovative solutions to the climate crisis. Contributing to the GCF replenishment in 2023 is critical to secure a successful COP28. We call on every contributor to commit to increase their pledges by at least 50 percent ahead of the pledging session in October of 2023.”
– The Honourable Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment and Climate Change

“We will only achieve a healthy planet and prosperity for all if we work together and ensure the voices of everyone, including women and girls, Indigenous peoples, and civil society are heard. Canada remains committed to ensuring the Green Climate Fund leverages private and innovative finance to strengthen climate mitigation and adaptation, addresses biodiversity loss through nature-based solutions, reduces disaster risk, and improves food systems where the need is greatest, particularly in Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries, and African States.”
– The Honourable Harjit S. Sajjan, Minister of International Development and Minister responsible for the Pacific Economic Development Agency of Canada

Quick facts

• In 2021, Canada doubled its official international climate finance commitment to $5.3 billion over five years. Canada’s total climate finance also goes beyond its official climate finance commitment and includes funding export credit support, core contributions to multilateral development banks (MDBs), private finance mobilized through public investments, support from FinDev Canada, and other international assistance with a climate change component. In 2021, Canada provided and mobilized over $1.53 billion in climate finance from all sources, which is a 12 percent increase from 2020.
• Canada hosted the first co-convened Canada, China, and EU Ministerial Meeting on Climate Action (MoCA) in Montréal in 2017. The goal then, and now, is to bring major economies and key climate actors together to discuss concrete action to help advance implementation of the Paris Agreement and demonstrate continued commitment to global climate action.
• Headquartered in Songdo, South Korea, the GCF is the world’s largest dedicated climate fund. It helps developing countries transition to sustainable, low-emission, climate-resilient, nature-positive, and inclusive development, and helps to combat climate change worldwide.
• The GCF plays an important role in supporting and advancing the voices of those in developing countries who are disproportionately impacted by climate change, including women and girls, Indigenous peoples, and the most disadvantaged communities. For example, it requires all GCF projects to be gender responsive.
• GCF investments are grounded in four core transformational strategies: enabling greater climate action, accelerating climate innovation, de-risking investments to scale up financing, and aligning finance with sustainable development.
• As of March 2023, the GCF project portfolio includes 216 approved projects supporting adaptation and mitigation in 129 countries, for a committed amount of US$12 billion of GCF funding, and a portfolio amounting to US$45 billion, including public and private sector co‑financing.
• The GCF directly supports projects aligned with Canada’s priorities, including on the clean energy transition; the GCF’s portfolio includes 61 projects related to energy generation and access with a total GCF financing of US$3 billion.
• As a partner and contributor country committed to the Paris Agreement and its obligations, Canada plays an essential role in climate finance through its support for the GCF. Canada is currently the eighth largest contributor to the GCF.
• In March 2023, the GCF Board elected Mafalda Duarte as the next Executive Director. She is set to start her term in August 2023. She will be the second female Executive Director in the history of the GCF.

Associated links

• Canada’s international climate finance
• Climate finance delivery plan
• Climate finance delivery plan progress report
• Green Climate Fund

Contacts

Kaitlin Power
Press Secretary
Office of the Minister of Environment and Climate Change
819-230-1557
Kaitlin.Power@ec.gc.ca

Media Relations
Environment and Climate Change Canada
819-938-3338 or 1-844-836-7799 (toll-free)
media@ec.gc.ca

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