Twentieth meeting of the GCF Board (B.20)

The Board:

1. Notes that the Co-Chair from developing country Parties is unable to attend the twentieth meeting of the Board;
2. Acknowledges that the Board, having received no nomination, is unable to elect another Board member from a developing country Party to assume the functions of the Co-Chair for the duration of the meeting;
3. Agrees, notwithstanding paragraph 8 and section 4.2 of the Rules of Procedure of the Board, and in light of the exceptional circumstances and without setting a precedent, that the Co-Chair from developed country Parties shall discharge the duties of both Co-Chairs for the duration of the twentieth meeting of the Board only and that in doing so, he shall, in accordance with paragraph 10 of the Rules of Procedure of the Board, be guided by the best interests of the Fund; and
4. Requests the Co-Chairs to consult with Board members and alternate members of the Board on the matters relating to the preparations for the twenty-first meeting of the Board.

The Board:

1. Takes note that the appointments of the heads of the independent Evaluation Unit, the independent Integrity Unit and independent Redress Mechanism have been confirmed; and
2. Reaffirms that all future decisions relating to the appointment, confirmation of appointment and termination of all Board-appointed officials shall be taken by the Board.

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/16 titled “Updated workplan of the Board for 2018”:

1. Takes note of the updated workplan of the Board for 2018, as set out in annex I;
2. Decides to defer consideration of the following matters and requests the Secretariat, in consultation with the Co-Chairs and the relevant committees, panels and groups of the Board, to progress its work on these matters and present these for consideration by the Board at the earliest possible opportunity:
   
   1. The development of a full set of policies relating to prohibited practices, anti- money-laundering and countering the financing of terrorism, requested pursuant to decision B.14/01, paragraph (e);
   2. The development of the terms of reference for a request for proposal to support climate technology incubators and accelerators, requested pursuant to decision B.18/03, paragraph (c);
   3. Guidance on the approach and scope for providing support to adaptation activities, requested pursuant to decision B.17/10, paragraph (c)(ii);
   4. The definition of the nature, scope and extent of second-level due diligence, requested pursuant to decision B.17/09, paragraph (o);
   5. The development of risk-rating models, requested pursuant to decision B.17/11, paragraph (f); and
   6. The development of modalities, based on the recommendations from the Private Sector Advisory Group, to support activities to enable domestic and international private sector actors to engage in GCF activities in least developed countries and small island developing States, requested pursuant to decision B.19/18, paragraph (b).

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/01 titled “Terms of reference for the review of the committees and groups established by the Board”:

1. Adopts the terms of reference for the review of the effectiveness of the committees, panels and group established by the Board as set out in annex II to this document;
2. Decides that the review shall be undertaken by an independent consultant or firm, with the aim of presenting the outcomes of such review and any recommendations to the Board for its consideration as soon as possible and no later than the twenty-first meeting of the Board;
3. Requests the Secretariat to promptly procure the independent consultant or firm referred to in paragraph (b) above; and
4. Authorizes the Co-Chairs to establish the maximum amount that can be used for the procurement of such independent consultant or firm, which shall then be accommodated within the 2018 administrative budget of the Secretariat.

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/05 titled “Annual update on complementarity and coherence”:

1. Welcomes progress on the implementation of the Operational Framework on complementarity and coherence;
2. Requests the Secretariat to include, as appropriate, the update on 2017−2018 activities as contained in document GCF/B.20/05 in the seventh report of GCF to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, in line with decision B.17/04, paragraph (d);
3. Invites national designated authorities to collaborate with accredited entities to bring to the country programming process any applicable work and lessons achieved with other climate funds, in line with their country priorities and in accordance with the business model of GCF;
4. Requests the Secretariat to provide information to national designated authorities and accredited entities, as appropriate, related to promoting coherence at the national programming level, including with regard to paragraph (c);
5. Also requests the Secretariat to (i) develop a proposal for consideration by the Board in 2019 with an updated set of outcomes for the operational framework on complementarity and coherence for 2019−2020; and (ii) include proposals for consideration by the Board on areas where further fund-to-fund arrangements are possible to improve efficiency, effectiveness and simplicity, and to enhance the alignment of portfolios with other climate funds;
6. Requests the Co-Chairs, with the support of the Secretariat, to engage with the Chair and Vice-Chair of the Adaptation Fund Board to better understand options for collaboration with the Adaptation Fund, and to report back to the Board at its twenty-first meeting; and
7. Requests the Secretariat to collaborate with the Climate Investment Funds Administrative Unit to advise national designated authorities on how programming opportunities identified by Climate Investment Funds beneficiary countries may be brought to GCF programming, as appropriate, including through the work referred to in paragraph (d) above.

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/15 titled “Seventh Report of the Green Climate Fund to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”:

1. Requests the Co‐Chairs, assisted by the Secretariat, to finalize the “Seventh Report of the Green Climate Fund to the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”, presented in annex III to this document, taking into consideration the comments made and decisions taken at the twentieth meeting of the Board, and submit the revised report to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change secretariat no later than 12 weeks prior to the twenty-fourth session of the Conference of the Parties, in accordance with decision 7/CP.20, paragraph 23.

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/Inf.06 titled “Status of the GCF portfolio: approved projects and fulfilment of conditions”, document GCF/B.20/Inf.07/Rev.01 titled “Status of the GCF pipeline, including the status of Project Preparation Facility requests” and document GCF/B.20/Inf.05 titled “Status of the initial resource mobilization process”:

1. Takes note that the GCF cumulative funding approvals as at the twentieth meeting of the Board amount to USD 4.4 billion, and the remaining commitment authority for the initial resource mobilization is currently projected at USD 2.8 billion;
2. Recognizes the high demand in the GCF pipeline from developing countries, and that an approach to managing the GCF commitment authority and resources is required to guide developing countries and accredited entities in engaging with GCF;
3. Takes note of the information provided, which relates to the effects on the commitment authority related to currency fluctuations to the amount of USD 0.9 billion1 and the as-yet unfulfilled contribution agreements/arrangements to the amount of USD 0.1 billion;2
4. Takes note of the level of the current state of the disbursement of resources to the amount of 274 million for approved projects and urges the Secretariat to continue to make progress to speed up the rate at which projects reach the implementation stage;
5. Requests the Secretariat to consider the Board’s comments on the need for financial management of the commitment authority in preparing for the twenty-first meeting of the Board, with a view to ensuring resources for the operation of the GCF for the remainder of the initial resource mobilization period in line with paragraph (f) below;
6. Also requests the Secretariat to prepare an analysis of options for the financial planning of the GCF commitment authority for the initial resource mobilization with a view to managing the GCF pipeline to balance commitments and diversity among accredited entities and across the initial results areas of the GCF based on confirmed contributions in accordance with decision B.06/06 on resource allocation, and present this to the Board for consideration and adoption at its twenty-first meeting; and
7. Confirms that the financial planning exercise should also contain a forward-looking analysis on pipeline management to guide the GCF replenishment process.

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/23 titled “Dates and venues of the following meetings of the Board”:

1. Decides that the twenty-first meeting of the Board will take place from Wednesday, 17 October to Saturday, 20 October 2018; and
2. Decides that, without setting a precedent, the deadline for disclosure of environmental and social safeguards reports for category A projects and I-1 programmes to be considered by the Board at its twenty-first meeting of the Board will be kept as per the dates for twenty- first meeting of the Board adopted in decision B.19/22, paragraph (b).

The Board, having considered document GCF/B.20/02 titled “Audited financial statements of the Green Climate Fund for the year ended 31 December 2017”:

Approves the audited financial statements of the Green Climate Fund for the year ended 31 December 2017 as contained in annex IV.