Green Climate Fund
The Green Climate Fund (GCF) is an international fund for fighting climate change. It is part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was proposed at the Cancun Conference in Mexico in 2010. It was accepted at the Durban Conference in South Africa in December 2011. The fund's goal is to help developing countries fight climate change by providing them with the money they need to do so. Money may be granted for projects, programs, policies and activities that will help fight climate change or help those countries adapt to global warming.
GCF operates in Songdo, Incheon, South Korea. The Green Climate Fund headquarters were officially opened on 4 December 2013.
The fund is governed by a board of directors. The Board has 24 members. There is an equal number of members from developing and developed countries. Two Co-Chairs of the Board are elected by the Board members. One is a member from a developed country and the other is a member from a developing country. Currently, the Co-Chairs of the Board are Mr. Manfred Konukiewitz (Germany) and Mr. Jose Maria Clemente Sarte Salceda (The Philippines).
Observers have noted that the GCF still has many challenges to work through. These challenges include the way the fund works, what its functions and goals are, how it is governed, and how it will do its job. These must be decided either by the GCF Board or by the countries that are party to the UNFCCC.