A key agreement signed today between the Agence Française de Développement (AFD) and the Green Climate Fund will help AFD achieve its goal of making 100 percent of its financing compatible with the Paris Agreement.

“Thanks to its accreditation with the Green Climate Fund, the Agence Française de Développement will further accelerate the implementation of the Paris Agreement,” said Rémy Rioux, Chief Executive Officer of the French development bank. “Our strengthened partnership with GCF will allow us to significantly increase the scope of France’s operations towards new geographical areas and sectors that are relatively unexplored,” he explained.

The signing of Accreditation Master Agreements (AMAs) is a prerequisite for all GCF Accredited Entities, such as AFD, to implement GCF-approved projects. They set out the roles and responsibilities of each institution, and their signing is a prerequisite in implementing joint projects.

Mr Rioux added that AFD plans to significantly increase the volume and scope of the projects to combat climate change that it will submit to GCF. This includes taking on more risk to assist developing countries along low-carbon and climate-resilient development pathways.

GCF Executive Director Howard Bamsey said GCF’s mandate to finance low-emission and climate resilient growth is strengthened by the broad reach of AFD operations in 108 countries through a network of 85 agencies.

“AFD has already shown it has a strong track record in climate change mitigation and adaptation by committing more than USD 3.5 billion to climate finance last year,” said Mr Bamsey.

GCF has agreed to contribute funding to two AFD projects – one to improve urban flood management in Senegal, and the other to make irrigation more adaptive to a changing climate in Morocco.

AFD operates in a large number of sectors, including energy, health, biodiversity, water, and digital technologies. It is currently supervising and supporting over 2,500 development projects.

The Green Climate Fund was set up in 2010 to be one of the major instruments in financing the global response to climate change in developing countries. It aims to allocate equal financing for mitigation and adaptation.