Tapping into the Green Climate

OPINION

Khurram Lalani

Tapping into the competitive which means that countries with higher capacities can tap into the GCF space more than the others (such as China and India). On Green Climate Fund the contrary, countries susceptible to climate change are the ones that have weak governance systems, rely on inadequate and outmoded disaster preparedness levels and ill-equipped technical and financial capacities to Pakistan is suffering from one of its worst natural calamities. In all the pain and agony, a viral video of a small boy provides hope against hope. His hair grubby, his clothes dirty; he takes out thirty rupees out of his pocket and deposits them in a relief camp for flood victims. His total earnings of work on long-gestation project proposals and execution. This means that vulnerable countries continue to lag, especially for mobilising investments for climate finance activities. Let’s pick up a few statistics. In Pakistan’s case, the GCF has taken on average 538 days to process an application in the pipeline phase. This is the day: sixty rupees. roughly a year and a half per project. What Pakistanis have learned this monsoon is that the ravages Once the project is accepted, the GCF board’s approvals follow. In of floods are severe and know no boundaries. All four provinces Pakistan’s case, the GCF took another 288 days on average to process apwere affected – some more than the others. In parts of Balochistan, it provals. Overall, this has meant that a total of 826 days were spent to get rained incessantly; for more than seven days a week where it rarely one project past the approval line. This does not factor in the work that a rains for a day or a two usually, not only destroying crops and live- project proponent does on its own before submitting anything. stock but also shattering hope, optimism, and confidence. These numbers are not standalone for Pakistan. Almost all counThe losses have been outrageous. We lost cotton crops spread tries vulnerable to climate change see similar profiles of project approvals over 1.4 million acres, rice standing on 0.6 million acres, and dates from the GCF. Bangladesh, for instance, has seen an average of 608 days on 0.1 million acres. 7 per cent of our sugarcane, and 50 per cent each per project in the pipeline phase and another 580 days in the approval of sesame, tomato, chili, vegetables and onions have been destroyed, phase; Sudan has numbers of 1,168 days and 190 days; Malawi 407 and which will affect already rising inflation. Almost 900,000 livestock 381 days, while one project in Myanmar usually takes 1,172 days to be have perished so far, leaving small farm holders with no real assets. processed and 159 days to get approved. The most vulnerable countries Agriculture is not the only affected sector. In education, around to climate change remain the most vulnerable countries to access climate 17,000 primary, secondary, and higher secondary schools for boys and finance also. For this to change, two things must happen. First, the GCF girls have been destroyed. In addition, approximately 5,400 schools needs to speed up its approval timelines, especially for vulnerable counare being used as shelters for displaced people, preventing school go- tries. Vulnerable countries just don’t have the time for an elaborate aping children from resuming education until all refugees are relocated. proval process, bureaucratic delays or to run back and forth for document The health sector is even worse. So far, more than 1,500 have screening and validations. In a typical government bureaucracy (which died while 15,000 are injured. An estimated 6,400,000 people, GCF is beginning to look like), this may well be a norm. This is suicidal including 3,000,000 children are vulnerable to outbreaks of cholera, for countries facing imminent climatic catastrophes. typhoid, measles, leishmaniasis, and HIV; 52,000 people are suffering One problem here is the over reliance of former and current bureaufrom diarrhea and around 650,000 pregnant women are stranded crats in its hiring structure. All of the Fund’s senior positions represent with no healthcare facilities. More than 1,000 health facilities have government bureaucracy appointed by national governments as their been damaged by floods, with 180 completely destroyed. representatives. There is nothing wrong with an appointment of a bureauThe global response has been muted thus far. However, the ar- crat; however, they often come with a generalist training and are not the chitects of climate finance remind us of the availability of funds from most suited decision makers when it comes to climate finance, transacthe Green Climate Fund (GCF), which can be accessed by the Least tion structuring and blended finance deal flows. To tackle the size and Developed Countries (LDCs) like Pakistan. The progress on this scale of climate finance, some sort of blitz-scaling is required. Some new so far includes four funding project approvals for a total committed iterations, trial and errors, speedier processes and faster timelines. Time funding of $131 million since its inception. Actual disbursement fig- for business as usual is receding fast. ures are even lower, around 20 per cent, which is paltry as compared Second, not everything needs to be done by the GCF alone. Vulnerto GCF’s own climate ambitions and our climate vulnerability. able countries need to ramp up their climate actions as well. If one third In an ideal scenario, the most vulnerable countries should of Pakistan’s is submerged then a response must come from within too. receive more funding. Not with the GCF, however. The finance is Today, more than ever, its ecological integrity is at the cross-roads with its territorial integrity. Any imbalance between the two will only worsen the situation from hereon. What it needs to do to tap climate finance is The writer heads a development more than obvious. Lead technical and financial capacity building through enhanced institutional consulting firm Resources Future capacities. Invest time and resources on quality feasibility studies, participate and advance its and is an energy and climate climate adaptation plan and start investing in critical infrastructure. Small steps will make a diffinance expert ference but the time to take those small steps is today. That boy may have given the most he could that day. Now, it is time our leadership’s time to stand up for the cause. n