Towards the Fifth Review of the UNFCCC’s Financial Mechanism

Financial support for mitigation and adaptation actions in developing countries is at the core of the climate negotiations under the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). This is due to the legal obligations created by the Convention itself, and the critical role of finance in enabling developing countries to take ambitious climate action.

Key messages

• The Fifth Review of the UNFCCC’s Financial Mechanism provides an opportunity for Parties to consider improvements in climate finance in a comprehensive way.
• Lessons can be drawn from past reviews, but the scope of the Fifth Review is much broader and involves new institutions.
• The UNFCCC’s Standing Committee on Finance (SCF)
 will lead the Fifth Review and should draw upon a wide range of inputs from processes across the UNFCCC.
• The Green Climate Fund (GCF) should anticipate and prepare to act upon issues that are likely to emerge in the Review, with a view to securing favourable results. These issues include: building on the best features of the existing funds and learning from their shortcomings; clarifying roles and responsibilities between the GCF and the UNFCCC’s Conference of the Parties (CoP) to avoid varying interpretations; and anticipating the possibility that the SCF will initiate an independent review of the GCF.