The Minister of Environmental Affairs Dr Edna Molewa has welcomed the accreditation of the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) as one of 41 UN Green Climate Fund (GCF) partner institutions.
SANBI is only the second South African institution to achieve Green Climate Fund accreditation, which enables the institute to process applications for funding for climate change adaptation and mitigation projects.
Dr Molewa said: “SANBI’s accreditation paves the way for public and private entities to access GCF funding for projects that build and increase resilience and that overall ensure that vulnerable people in South Africa are able to adapt to the effects of climate change.”
She added: "the accreditation is a milestone in South Africa’s transition along a low-carbon, inclusive resource-efficient climate change resilient development path.”
SANBI’s Chief Executive Officer, Dr Tanya Abrahamse said that the accreditation “is a wonderful achievement for South Africa, and SANBI looks forward to supporting the development and implementation of a portfolio of projects that make a real difference in the lives of people who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.”
This is a wonderful achievement for South Africa, and SANBI looks forward to supporting the development and implementation of a portfolio of projects that make a real difference in the lives of people who are vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
The Green Climate Fund was established in 2010 by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to support a paradigm shift in the global response to climate change.
It allocates its resources to low-emission and climate-resilient projects and programmes in developing countries. The Fund pays particular attention to the needs of societies that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, in particular Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States.
During the Twenty-first Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UNFCCC in Paris, South Africa recognised the Green Climate Fund as a key part of the operating entity of the Financial Mechanism of the Convention, welcoming the pledges to the Fund and the decision taken by its Board to establish a 50:50 balance in the allocation of resources to climate mitigation as well as adaptation.
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