Guyana today signed a readiness grant agreement with the Green Climate Fund on the sidelines of the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP). The funding will provide USD 300,000 to Guyana to help the country build capacity to access GCF funding for its priority projects in the future.

The grant agreement was signed at the GCF stand at the Paris climate conference. H.E. Raphael Trotman, Minister of Governance of the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, signed on behalf of Guyana in the presence of H.E. Winston Jordan, the Guyanese Minister of Finance. Ousseynou Nakoulima, Director of Country Programming, signed on behalf of the Fund.

The Executive Director of the Caribbean Community Climate Change Centre (CCCCC or 5C), Dr. Kenrick Leslie, also attended the ceremony. 5C is an Accredited Entity (AE) to the Fund, meaning that it can partner with GCF in delivering mitigation and adaptation projects on the ground in the Caribbean.

The Fund provides early support for readiness and preparatory activities to enhance country ownership and access through its country readiness programme. A minimum of 50 per cent of readiness support is targeted at Small Island Developing States (SIDS) such as Guyana, Least Developed Countries (LDCs), and African States.

More than 95 countries have so far expressed interest in receiving readiness support from the Fund, and more than 30 such grants have been approved to date.