Adaptation Fund to directly finance developing countries
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Farrukh Iqbal Khan, chair of the Adaptation Fund, with Yvo de Boer
Farrukh Iqbal Khan is the lead negotiator for Pakistan at the UN climate change negotiations and the current head of the Adaptation Fund set up by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in Bonn. This is the first time that the UNFCCC will be able to disburse funds directly to developing countries to deal with the impacts of climate change. Farrukh is the third (and youngest) chair of the 32-member Fund’s board, established in 2008. Members come from both developing and developed countries. The board held its tenth meeting in Bonn on June 15 and 16. CCMP’s Rina Saeed Khan spoke to him:
Rina: Has the fund given any money as yet for adaptation?
Farrukh: We are currently looking at eight adaptation projects submitted by developing countries – Senegal, Solomon Islands, Turkmenistan, Mauritius, Nicaragua, Egypt, Mauritania and Pakistan. The project from Pakistan, for example, is on reducing risk and vulnerabilities from Glacier Lake Outburst Floods in the Northern Areas by building the human and technical capacities of local communities. We have not given any money as yet as the projects are still under discussion and technical review.
Where is the money for adaptation coming from?
We received 45 m euros from Spain, and Germany gave us 10 m. Sweden has also announced another 10 m that it will give to us. We have roughly 400 m euros of our own money, the amount projected from the proceeds of the Clean Development Mechanism levy (2% on each CDM project). I have pushed for full operationalization of the Fund and we will start financing projects soon. We have accredited three agencies with the fund; two are multi-lateral entities, the World Bank and the UN Development Programme, and one is what is called by the UN a national implementing entity, the Centre de Suivi Ecologique from Senegal.
Why is it taking so long for the Fund to start operating?
It takes time to build institutions. In the next few months the board will approve the projects. It took us two years to build everything from scratch. We have evolved a direct access modality whereby countries can access the Fund’s resources directly and without having to go through the multi-lateral entities. This has never happened before and this is the innovative feature that this board has evolved.
How will this fund be different from the Green Climate Fund?
While the name is yet to be agreed, the so-called Green Climate Fund will be a major fund. An agreement on financial architecture is the key to unlocking a pathway for a climate change regime in the post-2012 scenario. We are still in the process of defining its governance structure. In addition, we have not made any determination as what would be the sources of funding. However, it is expected that this new fund will be under the authority of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties and that it should be several times bigger than the Global Environmental Facility (GEF).
Are you expecting more money to come in from fast-start financing?
I do expect more countries to contribute. We are best placed to channel resources towards adaptation, including through the fast start financing. As chairperson of the Adaptation Fund Board, I have written to all Annex I countries [required under the Kyoto Protocol to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions] to ask them to consider channelling their adaptation contribution through the Adaptation Fund. Indications are positive, and one is expecting that developed countries are seriously considering channelling financial resources through this fund.
