Environmental and social safeguards

In carrying out its mandate of promoting a paradigm shift towards low-emission and climate-resilient development pathways in the context of sustainable development, GCF will effectively and equitably manage environmental and social risks and impacts, and improve outcomes of all GCF-financed activities.

This is facilitated by a set of management processes and procedures that allow GCF to identify, analyse, avoid, minimise, and mitigate any potential adverse environmental and social impacts of its activities, to maximise environmental and social benefits, and to improve the environmental and social performance of GCF and its activities consistently over time. This system of processes and procedures is an overarching framework for achieving improvements in environmental and social outcomes while addressing any unintended adverse impacts of all the GCF-financed activities. GCF incorporates environmental and social considerations into its decision-making and operations and identifies opportunities to “do good” and improve environmental and social outcomes.

The interim Environmental and Social Safeguards of the GCF are the International Finance Corporation’s Environmental and Social Performance Standards.

The GCF environmental and social policy

The GCF Environment and Social Policy is an essential element of this system, elaborating the commitment of GCF to integrate environmental and social issues into its decision-making and outcomes, and establishes the principles, requirements, and responsibilities to deliver on these commitments.

The policy reflects GCF’s commitment to achieve environmental and social benefits in all of the activities it undertakes and supports and the importance of clearly conveying this objective to stakeholders and communities. It articulates how GCF integrates environmental and social considerations into its decision-making and operations to effectively manage environmental and social risks and impacts and improve outcomes. This policy presents the commitments of GCF and articulates the principles and standards to which GCF will hold itself accountable. Through this policy, GCF will require that all GCF-supported activities will commit to:

• Enhance equitable access to development benefits; and
• Give due consideration to vulnerable populations, groups, and individuals (including women, children, and people with disabilities, and people marginalised by virtue of their sexual orientation or gender identity), local communities, indigenous peoples, and other marginalised groups of people and individuals that are affected or potentially affected by GCF-financed activities.