The Development Bank of Latin America (CAF) today became the first multilateral development bank to sign an Accreditation Master Agreement (AMA) with the Green Climate Fund (GCF), giving the go-ahead to partner on low-emissions and climate-resilient development projects in Latin America.

The agreement was signed by Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, CAF Executive Vice President, and Javier Manzanares, GCF Executive Director ad interim. The Accreditation Master Agreement is the central instrument which sets out the basic terms and conditions to work together for the use of GCF resources.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement in Marrakech, Javier Manzanares stated: “We are excited to be finalising our partnership agreement with CAF. By working together, we can better address country needs in the region, and develop a project pipeline for low-emissions, climate-resilient development in Latin America.”

“CAF is delighted to sign this agreement with the Green Climate Fund”, said Luis Enrique Berrizbeitia, CAF Executive Vice President. “We look forward to partnering with GCF on investments in the region to respond to climate change.”

CAF is a regional development bank with headquarters in Caracas, Venezuela, and multiple country offices. CAF can operate at scale, bringing GCF the capacity to invest in low-emissions and climate-resilience project opportunities across Latin America. It is a large-scale direct access entity, which was accredited to the Fund in July 2015. CAF operates in over 15 countries in the region, focusing on promoting sustainable development and green economies through support for the technical and financial structuring of projects.

At its June 2016 meeting the GCF Board approved a project with CAF to support solar energy development in the Tarapacá Region of Chile. GCF will invest a loan of USD 49 million in the Atacama Solar Project, with co-financing being provided by CAF and others.

In total, fifteen accredited entities have now signed Accreditation Master Agreements with GCF:

• Acumen Fund, Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA) of Morocco,
• Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC),
• Centre de Suivi Écologique (CSE) of Senegal, Corporacion Andina de Fomento (CAF),
• Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA),
• Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia,
• International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN),
• Ministry of Natural Resources of Rwanda (MINIRENA),
• National Environment Management Authority of Kenya (NEMA),
• PROFONANPE, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP),
• Unidad para el Cambio Rural (Unit for Rural Change of Argentina),
• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the
• World Meteorological Organization (WMO).

Other Accredited Entities are in the process of finalising their Accreditation Master Agreements with the Fund.