On October 6, 2020, the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI) and the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MINEDD), under the Green Climate Fund (GCF) Readiness Program, organized the launching ceremony of the National GCF Platform in Côte d’Ivoire. The platform was established, with the NDA as the coordinating body, to discuss Country Programme priority areas with accredited entities and other partners.
The launching ceremony benefitted from the participation of about fifty five people grouped between the following actors: Private sector associations; Public Institutions (PI); Entities Accredited (EA) to Green Climate Funds; Entities Accredited to other Climate Funds, including the Green Climate Fund; Other Technical and Financial Partners (PTF); and privates companies.
The objective of this ceremony was to officially launch the platform. Moreover, the ceremony aimed to present the functional architecture, missions, and attributions of the platform and two-year action plan to stakeholders; and to present the perspectives for the launch of the platform’s activities.
Recognizing the challenge of financing Côte d’Ivoire’s climate change mitigation and adaptation actions, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire initiated and implemented programs to access climate finance and mobilize investments in climate projects, including capacity building to engage effectively with the GCF over the long-term.
The country, through the Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development, received a grant from the GCF to undertake an eighteen-month readiness program in partnership with GGGI. This Readiness project aims to improve Côte d’Ivoire’s access to GCF by supporting the accreditation of a national direct access entity (DAE) – Banque National d’Investissement (BNI). This project will identify the capacity building needs of the candidate for accreditation, in collaboration with key government entities, to increase their capacity to prepare and manage climate change projects. Also, the project will support the development of a national financial resource mobilization strategy with a focus on climate finance to identify financing options, including recommendations on mobilizing private sector investment for priority climate actions.
GGGI is assisting the Republic of Côte d’Ivoire to adopt the transition model for green growth (aligned with and beyond the scope of this GCF Readiness project), by supporting the management of the implementation of strategic projects and programs. This Readiness project also aims to support the private sector in developing projects and increase investment in climate change. Private investors are not only important for their role in financing climate change mitigation and adaptation in Côte d’Ivoire, but also for the information and insights they can provide, as well as the expertise and agility they can bring to project development and implementation. This project will, therefore, ensure the engagement of the private sector, and enable private sector project development for potential funding from Green Climate Fund.
After validation of the platform toolkit in a virtual workshop with key stakeholders, this ceremony was organized to officially launch the platform.