Category Archives: Green Climate Fund
Scaling up adaptation 5: Microfinance sparked by “social energy”
Microfinance is perhaps “the” success story for scaling up development interventions. While it should continue to be a critical tool in providing climate finance to the poor and reducing their vulnerability to climate impacts, its early history also has lessons to offer for scaling up adaptation. Continue reading
Consolidation for devolution: Balancing top-down and bottom-up elements of climate finance governance in India
Consolidating national and international climate finance in a national fund in India could help ensure common principles; coherence with national strategies; distributive justice; prioritisation of the needs of the most vulnerable; and flexibility through a continuous review process. However, such consolidation must come with a strong commitment to devolution. Continue reading
As Indian budget increases climate allocation, coherent governance becomes an even more critical need
Anju Sharma and Pratim Roy* India’s 2015 budget was announced last week – the second budget of the National Democratic Alliance government, in power since May 2014. Although it includes an allocation for climate change, it sends out very confusing … Continue reading
Five important national considerations that must trump GCF readiness
With pledges exceeding US$10 billion,the Green Climate Fund (GCF) is open for business, and expected to start disbursing funds over the next few months. This is a good time, therefore, to remind policy makers in developing countries that GCF requirements are only one part of the picture – there are far more important national considerations that should be taken into account first, before deciding where the GCF arrangements will fit in. Continue reading
Climate change and the post-2015 goals: Passing ships or all in the same boat?
With 2015 potentially signaling a new chapter for the “global partnership” for poverty eradication and sustainable development, developing country leaders have to consider one question very carefully: do they really want to perpetuate the aid and charity paradigm that reduced them to unequal partners in this partnership for the last half century? This blog considers options, mainly in the context of the new report by the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts Sustainable Development Financing (ICESDF). Continue reading
Vulnerable India 6: Decentralisation and its discontents
One of the most critical elements for successful adaptation by poor and vulnerable communities – if not the most critical element – will be their ability to identify local climate-related threats and respond quickly where response is possible, with locally … Continue reading
Vulnerable India 2: Beneath the veneer
The polishing of India’s image in the recent past appears to be slowly erasing an integral truth about the country. ‘India Shining’ and ‘Incredible India’ at home, the country is commonly referred to as an ‘emerging economy’, a ‘key/large developing … Continue reading
Vulnerable India 1: Climate change in the world’s largest democracy
Real Swaraj (self-rule) will come, not by the acquisition of authority by a few, but by the acquisition of the capacity by all to resist authority when it is abused. In other words, Swaraj is to be attained by educating … Continue reading
Why Community Based Adaptation is not enough
For some time now, I have been meaning to write a blog on why splitting climate change adaptation into “community based adaptation” (CBA) and “ecosystem based adaptation” (EBA) is not necessarily a good thing from the point of view of … Continue reading
The Green Climate Fund’s redress mechanism: A cautionary tale from Nagarahole
On my way to the sixth meeting of the Green Climate Fund Board (GCFB) this month, I grabbed the opportunity for an unplanned visit to Nagarahole National Park in Karnataka, south India. The significance of this journey struck me only … Continue reading
It must be said! 