The Green Climate Fund (GCF) will incorporate lessons from its largest gathering of developing country partners now being held in Incheon, Republic of Korea, to strengthen its strategic support of climate action leading to GCF’s first replenishment and beyond.

The GCF Global Programming Conference has brought together representatives from 135 developing countries, including 50 Ministers, to chart the best ways to direct climate finance flows to match the ambitions, needs and coalescing paths of practical climate action across the planet.

Held over five days near the GCF headquarters, the conference is generating innovative ideas scoping how to lower the current alarming rise of greenhouse gas emissions and charting ways to deal with the climate effects of unavoidable change.

A key focus of the conference is for GCF to learn more about how developing countries are incorporating mitigation and adaptation action into their national priorities. This includes enhanced understanding how niche allocations of climate finance can realise their climate objectives under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC) and the Paris Agreement.

Discussions between a broad range of GCF partners continue this week around a variety of climate themes including energy and industry, water and ecosystems, the built environment and livelihoods - with an overarching aim to base all climate solutions on science and an understanding that practical action needs to be tailored to differing national conditions.

The Global Programming Conference is aimed at empowering developing countries to help build the momentum of global climate ambition signified by the UN Climate Action Summit in New York next month. 

Enhanced GCF understanding of developing country climate needs during the five days of the conference also sharpens its strategic approach to climate finance, a key to GCF’s successful replenishment this year.

GCF Executive Director Yannick Glemarec told conference participants that developing country input will feed into GCF’s strategic climate finance planning. He said an early appraisal of input from GCF partners during the conference indicated interest in enhancing access to GCF resources, streamlining GCF’s accreditation process and ensuring there is balanced support for mitigation and adaptation measures.

Mr Glemarec added GCF will continue to improve the way it targets its financial resources to where they are most needed, singling out Small Island Developing States (SIDS) and Least Developing Countries (LDCs).

Speaking in the same session with Mr Glemarec, Cook Islands Deputy Prime Minister Mark Brown highlighted the need for global support in topping up GCF resources this year as an essential part of helping vulnerable countries fortify themselves against climate change.

“I come from a region which encompasses over 30 percent of the earth’s surface,” he said. “That’s the Pacific. Combined…this represents less than 0.02 percent of carbon emissions. Yet we are the ones at the forefront, just like some of you, of the effects of global warming.”

The last day of the conference today is focusing on exploring ways to improve the resilience of SIDS and LDCs which are forecast to bear the brunt of climate change.