The Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Government of Japan signed a memorandum of cooperation on 29 November 2022 for the establishment of a junior professional officer (JPO) programme at GCF.   

The memorandum of cooperation was signed in Tokyo by Hong Paterson, GCF’s Chief Financial Officer / Chief Operating Officer and Toshihiro Kitamura, GCF Board Member and Deputy Director-General/Deputy Assistant Minister of the International Cooperation Bureau, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Japan.  Hong Paterson thanked the Government of Japan for its cooperation and support of GCF.  As GCF’s second largest funder, Japan has been a financial contributor since GCF’s initial resource mobilisation period (2015-2018) and has a seat on the GCF Board. 

The JPO programme will provide early career professionals from Japan the opportunity to gain practical work experience in climate finance at a multilateral organisation and to contribute to the advancement of GCF’s mandate to support developing countries as they transition to low-emission, climate-resilient development pathways. The programme will also support GCF’s aim of seeking to recruit a diverse and highly qualified workforce.