The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF) have signed an Accreditation Master Agreement, strengthening their partnership to deliver low-emission and climate-resilient development.

This signed Accreditation Master Agreement is the central instrument which sets out the basic terms and conditions to work together for the use of GCF resources. In March 2015, UNDP was one of the first entities accredited to the GCF and is a key partner of the Fund.

Speaking at the signing of the agreement, Héla Cheikhrouhou, GCF Executive Director stated, “UNDP is an important partner for the Green Climate Fund, and the signing of this agreement reflects the progress we are making to support countries around the world in their adaptation and mitigation efforts.”

“We are delighted to sign this agreement, and look forward to working with the Green Climate Fund to assist our partner countries in accessing the funding needed to transform their economies to achieve zero carbon, climate resilient sustainable development,” stated Tegegnework Gettu, UNDP’s Associate Administrator.

So far the GCF Board has approved six projects proposed by UNDP to support mitigation and adaptation goals in Armenia, Malawi, the Maldives, Sri Lanka, Tuvalu, and Viet Nam.

UNDP also partners with GCF in helping to strengthen national level capacities to access large-scale climate finance. The signing of the agreement is an important step towards implementing these activities.

In total, eleven 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, Environmental Investment Fund (EIF) of Namibia, Ministry of Natural Resources of Rwanda (MINIRENA), National Environment Management Authority of Kenya (NEMA), PROFONANPE, the Secretariat of the Pacific Regional Environment Programme (SPREP), the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Other accredited entities are in the process of finalizing their Accreditation Master Agreements with the Fund.

UNDP partners with people at all levels of society to help build nations that can withstand crisis, and drive and sustain the kind of growth that improves the quality of life for everyone. On the ground in more than 170 countries and territories, we offer global perspective and local insight to help empower lives and build resilient nations.

The Green Climate Fund was established by the 194 parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and given the mandate to fund climate action to limit greenhouse gas emissions and support climate-resilient development. The Fund has received pledges of over USD 10 billion equivalent, and has so far committed more than USD 420 million. The GCF Board has an aspirational target to approve USD 2.5 billion of investments by the end of 2016.