Climate & Energy Programme - Working Paper

The Global Environment Facility:

Funding for Adaptation or Adapting to Funds?

Annett Möhner & Richard J.T. Klein

June 2007
 The Global Environment Facility: Funding for
Adaptation or Adapting to Funds?

Annett Möhner & Richard J.T. Klein

Stockholm Environment Institute

Kräftriket 2B
106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel: +46 8 674 7070
Fax: +46 8 674 7020
E-mail: postmaster@sei.se
Web: www.sei.se

Communications Manager: Anh Nguyen

Publications Manager: Erik Willis
Web Manager: Howard Cambridge
Front cover photo courtesy of IISD/ENB
Photographer: Leila Mead

Copyright © 2007 by the Stockholm Environment Institute

This publication may be reproduced in whole or in part and in any form

for educational or non-profit purposes, without special permission from the
copyright holder(s) provided acknowledgement of the source is made. No use of
this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purpose, without
the written permission of the copyright holder(s).
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY:
FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS?

Annett MÖHNER1 and Richard J.T. KLEIN2

Climate & Energy Working Paper, Stockholm Environment Institute, June 2007

Abstract. International support for adaptation to climate change has evolved into an intricate system of
financial instruments, including four global funds: the GEF Trust Fund, the Least Developed Countries
Fund, the Special Climate Change Fund and the Adaptation Fund. Previous research on adaptation
funding focused on the financial adequacy of these global funds, as well as on economic and ethical di-
mensions of the funds’ technical adequacy, as reflected by their efficiency and fairness. This paper as-
sesses the funds’ technical adequacy from a governance perspective, as revealed by their responsiveness
to the needs of developing countries. These needs are expressed as various forms of guidance on the use
of the funds. The paper analyses the adherence by the GEF to guidance from the UNFCCC Conference
of the Parties, and the adherence by the Implementing Agencies of the GEF to guidance from the GEF.
It concludes that the funds are not technically adequate for responding to developing countries’ needs,
owing both to the complex design of the funds and to poor implementation of the guidance. This finding
may be of relevance to the development of additional guidance on the Adaptation Fund, as well as con-
tribute to discussions on the availability of adaptation funding under the GEF Trust Fund and on the role
of the funds under a post-2012 international climate policy regime.

Key words: climate change, adaptation, financial instruments, funding, technical adequacy, adherence,
UNFCCC, GEF, Implementing Agencies, developing countries.

1. Introduction

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) commits

developed countries to assist developing countries in meeting costs of adaptation to the
adverse effects of climate change. The World Bank (2006a) concludes that the incre-
mental costs to adapt to projected climate change in developing countries are likely to be
of the order of USD 10–40 billion per year, whilst Oxfam International (2007) estimates
this number to be over USD 50 billion per year. The Stern Review on the Economics of
Climate Change estimates that if no action is taken to mitigate climate change, overall
damage costs will be equivalent to losing at least 5% of global gross domestic product
(GDP) each year, with higher losses in most developing countries (Stern, 2007).
The Global Environment Facility (GEF) is currently the entity entrusted with the op-
eration of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, and as such provides the instru-
ments for the transfer of financial resources from developed to developing countries.

1
The author conducts PhD research whilst also being assigned to the UNFCCC Secretariat as an Associ-
ate Expert. The views expressed in this paper are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the
views of the UNFCCC Secretariat and the United Nations. The e-mail address for correspondence is
annett.moehner@gmail.com.
2
Stockholm Environment Institute, Stockholm, Sweden.
2 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

The instruments for adaptation funding via the GEF are the GEF Trust Fund, the Least
Developed Countries Fund and the Special Climate Change Fund. As of 30 April 2007
these three funds have received allocations and pledges of around USD 200 million in
total (UNFCCC, 2006a; GEF, 2007a). In addition, the Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto
Protocol of the UNFCCC receives a 2% share of proceeds from the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM). The actual amount of money that will be available from this fund is
uncertain as it depends on the extent of use of the CDM and on the price of carbon. Ac-
cording to the World Bank (2006b), it is likely to total USD 100–500 million by 2012.
The World Bank (2006b) notes that the total amount of funding for adaptation pro-
jected to be available by 2012 falls well short of the estimated amounts needed to cover
the costs of adaptation, and considers this to be the major impediment to adaptation
funding:
“An assessment of the current financial instruments shows that, while they are technically ade-
quate to respond to the challenge of achieving climate-resilient development, the sums of
money flowing through these instruments need to be substantially increased” (p. 40).
However, developing countries have expressed the additional concern that the com-
plexity of current arrangements constrains their access to funds for adaptation project
activities (UNFCCC Decision 3/CP.12). Without questioning the need for additional
funding, this paper therefore takes a closer look at the purported technical adequacy of
the financial instruments. It presents an assessment of technical adequacy from a gov-
ernance perspective, based on the adherence by the GEF to guidance from the UNFCCC
Conference of the Parties (COP), and on the adherence by GEF Implementing Agencies
(IAs) to guidance from the GEF.
An assessment of the governance aspect of the technical adequacy of current finan-
cial instruments is particularly timely. The GEF is in the process of reviewing, revising
and focusing its climate change strategy, whilst Parties to the Kyoto Protocol are consid-
ering further guidance on the management of the Adaptation Fund. In addition, Parties
to the UNFCCC are discussing financial support for adaptation as part of a post-2012
climate regime. Such support is seen as crucial if developing countries are to engage ac-
tively in mitigation.
The paper is structured as follows. The next section describes the development of fi-
nancial instruments under the UNFCCC and the GEF response to the adaptation needs
of developing countries. Section 3 presents a framework for assessing the technical ade-
quacy of these instruments and develops criteria for conducting the assessment. Sections
4 and 5 then analyse the adherence by the GEF to COP guidance and the adherence by
IAs to GEF guidance, respectively. Section 6 discusses the results and their implications
for policy, whilst Section 7 presents conclusions, recommendations and priorities for
future research.

2. The Development of Financial Instruments for Adaptation

Financial instruments for adaptation are developed, designed and implemented through a
governance system depicted in Figure 1. It aims at meeting developing countries’ needs
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 3

Developing
countries

Expressing needs and Implementing

negotiating modalities projects that respond
for adaptation funding to adaptation needs

Elaborating on needs
and modalities for
adaptation funding
Proposing projects based
on adaptation needs

GEF GEF
UNFCCC Council, Implementing and
Conference of the Assembly and Executing
Parties Providing guidance on Secretariat Providing guidance on Agencies
adaptation funding through adaptation funding through
decisions programming papers
Disbursing adaptation funding
for approved projects

Figure 1. Development of financial instruments for adaptation under the UNFCCC and the GEF.

for adaptation by providing funding for actual adaptation projects in accordance with
guidance developed for the respective instruments.
In accordance with Article 4.8 of the UNFCCC, the Parties shall give full considera-
tion to funding to meet the specific needs and concerns of developing country Parties
arising from the adverse effects of climate change. During negotiations at the annual
Conference of the Parties (COP) – the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC –
developing countries express their needs and concerns and pursue their interest in adap-
tation funding. The UNFCCC has a number of provisions for financial support for ad-
aptation.3 For example, Article 4.4 commits developed country Parties and other devel-
oped Parties included in Annex II to assist the developing country Parties that are par-
ticularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change in meeting costs of adapta-
tion to those adverse effects. Financial resources are provided on a grant or concessional
basis by a financial mechanism that, in accordance with Article 11, functions under the
guidance of and is accountable to the COP. Guidance is received in the form of COP de-
cisions. The COP thus establishes financial instruments with specific priorities (i.e.,
which activities are to be funded), eligibility criteria (i.e., who can receive funding) and
policies, including disbursement criteria (i.e., what share of a project can be funded).
Article 21.3 entrusted the GEF, on an interim basis, with the operation of the finan-
cial mechanism of the UNFCCC. The status of the GEF was upgraded from an “interim”
to a formalised entity operating the financial mechanism at COP-4 in 1998 (UNFCCC
Decision 3/CP.4). The GEF provides new and additional funding to meet the agreed in-
cremental costs of projects to generate global environmental benefits in climate change

3
See Verheyen (2002) for a comprehensive overview of these provisions.
4 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

and other areas (GEF, 1994). The remaining costs of projects are to be borne either by
the recipient country and/or by other bilateral or multilateral donors. The GEF is funded
by donor countries, some of which are also recipients, who commit resources every four
years through a replenishment process. During the fourth GEF Replenishment in 2006,
32 donor countries pledged USD 1 billion to support activities in the area of climate
change between 2007 and 2010 (GEF, 2006a). In addition to climate change, the GEF
supports projects related to biodiversity, international waters, land degradation, the
ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants.
The GEF implements COP decisions: it operates the financial instruments by estab-
lishing operational programmes, providing programming documents and allocating re-
sources. Developing countries can further pursue their interest in adaptation funding and
further negotiate operational modalities at meetings of the GEF Council, which take
place twice a year to decide on the operation of the financial instruments. Once a finan-
cial instrument is operational, eligible countries can propose projects based on their ad-
aptation needs through one of the three IAs of the GEF: the United Nations Develop-
ment Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and
the World Bank. Seven additional Executing Agencies, including regional development
banks, contribute to the implementation of GEF projects.

3. Analytical Framework

In its comment on current financial instruments for adaptation (cited verbatim in Section
1), the World Bank (2006b) distinguishes between the technical adequacy of the finan-
cial instruments and the sums of money flowing through these instruments (the latter
may be considered non-technical or financial adequacy). It mentions an assessment that
concludes that the current financial instruments to support adaptation in developing
countries are technically adequate. However, developing countries do not subscribe to
this conclusion (e.g., UNFCCC, 2006b, 2007a,b). The World Bank (2006b) does not
provide a definition of “technical adequacy” or a reference to the assessment, which
hampers a verification of the details of the assessment, including the criteria used to
evaluate technical adequacy. This section therefore presents an alternative framework
for analysing the technical adequacy of the current financial instruments for adaptation.
Sagasti et al. (2005) list “adequacy” as the first of eight key attributes of effective in-
ternational development financing systems (see Figure 2). They state that it refers both
to the total amount of development financing and to the match between financial instru-
ments and the needs of developing countries. It can thus be inferred that adequacy as de-
fined by Sagasti et al. (2005) combines technical adequacy and financial adequacy as
distinguished by the World Bank (2006b).
The needs of developing countries as relevant to adaptation funding include both the
need to be able to access funds and the need to be able to use these funds in line with the
country’s adaptation requirements. Sagasti et al. (2005), who do not address the par-
ticularities of GEF funding, consider only the latter type of needs in their definition of
adequacy. However, when considering the adequacy of financial instruments for adapta-
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 5

Financial adequacy

Adequacy Efficiency

Technical adequacy Fairness Priorities

Predictability

Responsiveness Eligibility
Responsiveness

Disbursement
Diversity and choice

Capacity to
Effectiveness absorb shocks

Complementarity to
domestic resource
mobilisation

Voice, representation
and accountability

Flexibility, efficiency
and learning

Sagasti et al., 2005 World Bank, 2006 This paper UNFCCC Article 11

Figure 2. Analytical framework for assessing the technical adequacy of global financial instruments for
adaptation to climate change.

tion, the former type of needs is equally relevant: developing countries have expressed
concerns about the difficulties they encounter in accessing funds for adaptation on a
number of occasions (e.g., UNFCCC Decision 3/CP.12; UNFCCC, 2007a). From the
point of view of Sagasti et al. (2005) these concerns would refer to other key attributes
of effective international development financing systems, namely responsiveness; voice,
representation and accountability; and flexibility, efficiency and learning.4 Elements of
these three attributes are considered part of technical adequacy for the purpose of this
paper, as they relate to the accessibility of funds.
Expanding on Sagasti et al. (2005), technical adequacy thus reflects the match be-
tween financial instruments for adaptation and the dual needs of developing countries to
be able to access funds and to be able to use them in line with their adaptation require-
ments.5 To enable an assessment of technical adequacy it is considered that a match be-
tween financial instruments and the two needs exists if:
• The application and approval process is efficient;
• Decision-making procedures are fair;

4
Predictability and complementarity to domestic resource mobilisation are also contentious issues with
respect to adaptation funding, but they are related to financial adequacy (i.e., sufficiency of funds) more
than to technical adequacy and therefore not considered here.
5
Whether or not this interpretation of technical adequacy corresponds to that of the World Bank (2006b)
remains unclear until the original assessment is available for further analysis.
6 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

• The financial instruments respond to developing countries’ needs.

A full evaluation of the technical adequacy of financial instruments for adaptation
then requires considering three aspects: efficiency, fairness and responsiveness. The
GEF Evaluation Office (EO) has assessed efficiency as part of its third overall perform-
ance study of the GEF (GEF EO, 2005) and as part of its evaluation of the GEF activity
cycle and modalities (GEF EO, 2006). Qualitative analyses of the fairness of decision-
making on GEF funding for adaptation have been conducted by Mace (2005), Paavola
and Adger (2006) and Müller (2007). This paper presents an assessment of the respon-
siveness of the existing financial instruments to developing countries’ adaptation needs.
It is based on an analysis of, first, the adherence by the GEF to guidance from the COP
(as COP decisions) and, second, the adherence by IAs to guidance from the GEF (in the
form of programming papers; see Figure 1). Full adherence to guidance would mean that
adaptation projects respond to developing countries’ needs.
The analysis assumes that COP decisions do reflect developing countries’ adaptation
needs, even though they are the result of negotiations in which the interests of develop-
ing countries compete with those of developed countries. The assumption is considered
valid in view of the collective bargaining power of the developing countries, the impor-
tance attached to country-driven priority setting (taking into account policy documents
such as National Communications, National Adaptation Programmes of Action and Pov-
erty Reduction Strategy Papers) and the fact that the COPs provide the only global fo-
rum for developing countries to pursue their interest in adaptation funding.
In the next two sections adherence is analysed using the three aforementioned ele-
ments of funding guidance as indicators: priorities, eligibility and disbursement. The
analysis is based on a review of publicly available documents, including COP decisions,
documents from the GEF and its IAs, as well as project documents.

4. GEF Adherence to COP Guidance

At its first session in 1995 the COP laid out the initial guidance for the provision of fi-
nancial support for adaptation from the GEF Trust Fund. Parties agreed that adaptation
should comprise short, medium and long-term strategies, and set up a three-stage ap-
proach to adaptation funding in developing countries. Stage I and II encompass plan-
ning, developing policy options and capacity building for adaptation, whilst Stage III
envisions actual measures to facilitate adequate adaptation (UNFCCC Decision
11/CP.1). The COP requested the GEF to provide full-cost funding for adaptation ac-
tivities in the context of formulating National Communications, including studies of the
possible impacts of climate change.6
As regards Stage I and II adaptation funding, the GEF has so far adhered to COP
guidance in terms of priorities, eligibility and disbursement. The GEF has provided full-

6
Article 12 of the UNFCCC requires all Parties to prepare National Communications, which include a
national inventory of greenhouse gas emissions, an overview of steps taken to implement the UNFCCC,
and other information Parties consider relevant to the achievement of the objective of the UNFCCC.
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 7

cost funding for all eligible 139 developing countries7 and twelve countries with econo-
mies in transition to develop their initial and in some cases second and even third Na-
tional Communications. In response to guidance from 1998 on Stage II activities
(UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.4), projects funded by the GEF include “Capacity Building
for Stage II Adaptation to Climate Change in Central America, Mexico and Cuba”,
“Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change in the Caribbean” and “Assessments of
Impacts of and Adaptation to Climate Change in Multiple Regions and Sectors”.
The revised Climate Change Strategy discussed at the GEF Council meeting in De-
cember 2006 (GEF, 2006b) makes no mention of support for Stage I and II adaptation
activities. The GEF (2006a) argues that Stage I activities have been supported through
initial National Communications, and that support for Stage II activities is available as
part of funding for the second National Communications. Funding for countries’ second
and subsequent National Communications is secured only until 2009 under an umbrella
project approved during the third replenishment period of the GEF; it is unclear how
funding for National Communications would be provided after 2009. Moreover, by lim-
iting Stage II activities to preparing National Communications the GEF narrows the fo-
cus for adaptation funding. It excludes activities such as co-operation in preparing for
adaptation to the impacts of climate change and elaboration of appropriate and inte-
grated plans for coastal zone management, water resources and agriculture, which have
been part of COP guidance (UNFCCC Decisions 11/CP.1 and 2/CP.4). Hence adherence
to COP guidance on funding priorities is doubtful.
The COP has never provided explicit guidance for Stage III adaptation funding.
However, in 2001 the COP identified fourteen adaptation-related activities to be sup-
ported under the GEF Trust Fund, including enhancing technical training for integrated
climate change impact, vulnerability and adaptation assessments, promoting the transfer
of adaptation technologies, establishing adaptation pilot projects and supporting system-
atic observation and monitoring networks and early warning systems in developing
countries (UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.7). In UNFCCC Decision 6/CP.7 the COP decided
that the GEF should provide financial resources to developing country Parties, in par-
ticular the least developed countries (LDCs) and the small island developing states
(SIDS), for activities identified in UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.7.
The GEF has thus far made operational one of the fourteen activities: it has set up the
strategic priority “Piloting an Operational Approach to Adaptation” (SPA) to provide
support for the establishment of adaptation pilot projects. In November 2003 the GEF
Council earmarked USD 50 million for the SPA. The GEF programming papers on the
SPA (GEF, 2004a and 2005) provide no details on eligibility criteria, although
UNFCCC Decision 1/CP.10 explicitly invites developing country Parties to make use of
the SPA. GEF adherence on the priorities for funding is only partial, despite the fact that
the COP restated its 2001 guidance in 2004 (in UNFCCC Decisions 1/CP.10 and
8/CP.10 the COP requested the GEF to make available further financial and technical re-
sources to implement the actions identified in UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.7). As for guid-
ance on disbursement, the COP has not expressed whether the full or partial costs of ad-

7
The GEF considers as developing countries all countries not included in Annex I to the UNFCCC.
8 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

aptation projects are to be covered. However, the GEF Council has requested the GEF
Secretariat and the IAs to ensure that projects under the GEF Trust Fund are consistent
with the principles of the Trust Fund, including criteria concerning incremental costs
and global environmental benefits (GEF, 2004b).
Global environmental benefits in the area of climate change are reductions in green-
house gas emissions or the uptake of greenhouse gases by sinks, which do not necessar-
ily occur in an adaptation project. According to its initial operational guidelines (GEF,
2004a), the SPA funds activities within a natural resources management context that
generate global environmental benefits, and adaptation measures that provide other ma-
jor development benefits (e.g., WEHAB: water, energy, health, agriculture, biodiver-
sity). The updated programming paper of 2005 states that the SPA supports pilot and
demonstration projects that address local adaptation needs and generate global environ-
mental benefits, which can include reducing the risk of biodiversity loss, accelerating
sustainable land management and integrated coastal zone management (GEF, 2005).
Criteria for the disbursement of funding under the SPA thus differ from the provision in
the Instrument of Establishment of the GEF (1994), which is to fund only the incre-
mental costs associated with transforming a project that has national benefits into one
that generate global environmental benefits.8
To determine the amount of GEF funding available for projects under the SPA, the
GEF requires project proponents to outline a series of scenarios. Countries first have to
outline a baseline scenario, which includes activities that countries are undertaking as
part of their ongoing development efforts. Second, countries need to construct an alter-
native GEF scenario that includes activities that would generate global environmental
benefits in the absence of climate change. Third, activities need to be added to the alter-
native GEF scenario that will ensure the robustness of the global environmental benefits
by improving the resilience of the systems concerned. The difference between the costs
associated with the baseline scenario and the alternative GEF scenario are considered the
incremental costs of the proposed project. Those incremental costs associated with in-
creasing resilience are to receive funding from the SPA, whilst those associated with
generating global environmental benefits are to be funded from other programmes under
the GEF climate change focal area or from other focal areas (e.g., biodiversity and land
degradation). Projects under the SPA thus receive GEF funding in the form of a “double
increment”: one for adaptation and one for generating global environmental benefits
(GEF, 2005). The remaining costs of a project need to be co-financed by either the re-
cipient country and/or other bilateral or multilateral donors.
In addition to the support available from the GEF Trust Fund, three distinct funds to
provide new and additional funding for adaptation were established by the COP in 2001:
the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF) and the Special Climate Change Fund
(SCCF) under the UNFCCC, and the Adaptation Fund under the Kyoto Protocol.9 Both
the LDCF and the SCCF are operational and managed by the GEF.

8
Enabling activities such as National Communications are exempt from the requirement to generate
global environmental benefits.
9
See Dessai (2003) and Schipper (2005) for an overview and background on the establishment of these
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 9

In line with COP guidance (UNFCCC Decisions 5/CP.7 and 7/CP.7) the LDCF is
mandated to finance the preparation and implementation of National Adaptation Pro-
grammes of Action (NAPAs) and other elements of the LDC work programme, such as
the provision of training and strengthening the capacity of meteorological and hydro-
logical services. NAPAs present an opportunity for LDCs to identify priority activities
that respond to their urgent and immediate adaptation needs. In UNFCCC Decision
27/CP.7 the COP requested the GEF to provide the LDCs with funding from the LDCF
to meet the agreed full cost of preparing the NAPAs. Two years later the COP requested
the GEF to take into account criteria for supporting the implementation of NAPAs on an
agreed full-cost basis (UNFCCC Decision 6/CP.9). This guidance was updated in 2005
with the COP requesting the GEF to provide full-cost funding to meet the additional
costs of activities, which are the costs imposed on vulnerable countries to meet their
immediate adaptation needs as identified and prioritised in the NAPAs (UNFCCC Deci-
sion 3/CP.11).
In UNFCCC Decisions 5/CP.7 and 7/CP.7 the COP mandated the SCCF to finance
activities, programmes and measures relating to climate change, including for adapta-
tion. The COP specifically mandated support for adaptation in the areas of water re-
sources management, land management, agriculture, health, infrastructure development,
fragile ecosystems, including mountainous ecosystems, and integrated coastal zone
management, as well as support for monitoring of diseases and vectors, capacity build-
ing for disaster risk management and information networks for rapid response to ex-
treme weather events (UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.7). As for eligibility, UNFCCC Deci-
sion 7/CP.7 states that the SCCF should provide funding to developing country Parties.
Two years later Parties agreed that the SCCF should serve as a catalyst to leverage addi-
tional resources from bilateral and other multilateral sources, without providing detail on
the share of GEF support available for projects (UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.9).
Article 12.8 of the Kyoto Protocol established the Adaptation Fund, which is to fi-
nance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are
Parties to the Protocol (UNFCCC Decision 10/CP.7). The COP serving as the Meeting
of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) has provided guidance on the managing
principles of the Adaptation Fund (UNFCCC/KP Decisions 28/CMP.1 and 5/CMP.2),
but it has not yet decided on priorities, eligibility criteria and disbursement criteria.10 A
decision on the financial institution to operate the fund has not yet been made either but
is expected at CMP-3. Adherence to CMP guidance therefore cannot yet be analysed.
The GEF provided operational guidance to IAs and developing countries in program-
ming papers on the LDCF and SCCF in 2004 (GEF, 2004c,d). The guidance on the
LDCF was updated in 2006 (GEF, 2006c). With regard to eligibility the programming
papers adhere to COP guidance. Only LDC Parties are eligible under the LDCF, whilst
all non-Annex I Parties are considered eligible developing country Parties for funding

additional financial instruments.

10
For the Kyoto Protocol the CMP assumes the role of the COP in providing guidance to the entity or
entities entrusted with the operation of the financial mechanism of the UNFCCC, in line with Article 11
of the Kyoto Protocol.
10 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

Size of project GEF funding Size of project GEF funding

under the LDCF under the SCCF
in USD million portion in % in USD million portion in %
up to 0.3 up to 100
0.3 to 0.5 up to 75
0.5 to 6.0 up to 50 up to 1.0 up to 50
6.0 to 18.0 up to 33 1.0 to 5.0 up to 33
above 18.0 up to 25 above 5.0 up to 25

Table 1. Sliding scale for GEF adaptation funding under the LDCF and SCCF (GEF, 2004d, 2006c).

under the SCCF (GEF, 2004). As for priorities, the GEF programming paper on the
SCCF includes all activities included in the COP guidance. However, adherence is in-
complete in the case of the LDCF. In 2005 the COP decided that the operation of the
LDCF should be consistent with supporting the implementation of activities of the LDC
work programme (UNFCCC Decision 3/CP.11). In spite of this guidance, the GEF pro-
vides programming for the preparation and implementation of NAPAs but not for the
other elements of the LDC work programme.
In terms of adherence to disbursement guidance, the GEF takes the view that the
LDCF and the SCCF are independent from the GEF Trust Fund, which means that pro-
visions of funding the incremental costs do not apply. Hence projects under the LDCF
and the SCCF do not have to generate global environmental benefits. The GEF has in-
stead created the concept of additional costs in its programming papers for the SCCF
and the LDCF. Additional costs are imposed by climate change to make development
climate-resilient. In contrast to the SPA, funding under the LDCF and the SCCF there-
fore comes in only one increment, which is the difference between a baseline (i.e., de-
velopment activities that would be pursued in the absence of climate change) and an al-
ternative GEF adaptation scenario (i.e., activities that respond to the adverse impacts of
climate change) (GEF, 2006c).
Recognising that an ex-ante calculation of the additional cost of adaptation is com-
plex, the GEF has developed a sliding scale for LDCF and SCCF funding, which serves
as a proxy for estimating the additional costs (Table 1). Under the sliding scale smaller
projects receive proportionally more GEF funding than bigger projects since they are as-
sumed to have a higher adaptation component (GEF, 2006c). Table 1 also shows that
GEF funding under the LDCF is more favourable than under the SCCF. This responds
to guidance from the COP, which requested the GEF to take into account the circum-
stances of LDCs when developing the co-financing scale (UNFCCC Decision 3/CP.11).
The sliding scale provides an indication of the possible maximum amount of GEF
funding for any given project size, but the relevant programming papers do not specify
how the actual amount is determined, leaving it instead to the discretion of the IAs and
the developing countries proposing the projects. The use of the sliding scale is optional,
but countries opting to request a higher proportion of adaptation funding than foreseen
under the sliding scale need to use the baseline and the alternative GEF adaptation sce-
narios to justify the costs (GEF, 2006c).
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 11

5. Implementing-Agency Adherence to GEF Guidance

As of May 2007 a total of 34 adaptation projects are either in “the pipeline” (i.e., listed
to be reviewed and approved), approved or under implementation under the SPA, the
LDCF and the SCCF (UNFCCC, 2006a; GEF, 2007b).11 Figure 3 depicts how the IAs
submitting or implementing these projects have adhered to GEF guidance as far as the
disbursement of funds is concerned. It shows that projects under the SPA receive a
higher portion of GEF funding than projects financed under the SCCF or the LDCF. For
the SPA there is no GEF guidance similar to the sliding scales of the SCCF and the
LDCF; the relevant programming paper gives no indication of the expected GEF portion
for adaptation projects under the SPA (GEF, 2005). UNDP has interpreted the SPA’s
double increment as a 50:50 funding ratio12 between GEF funding and other project
funding. Such a high GEF portion seems reasonable in view of the fact that the SPA
funds both the adaptation costs and the costs of generating global environmental bene-
fits.
However, only two projects (one from Mozambique and one from Sri Lanka) feature
such a double increment, whereby GEF funding is provided through the SPA and the
Land Degradation focal area (see Figure 3). The other projects only receive funding un-
der the SPA. This would suggest that either these projects do not generate global envi-
ronmental benefits or the costs for generating global environmental benefits are funded
by the SPA. The former is the case in the Colombian project “Integrated National Ad-
aptation Plan: High Mountain Ecosystems, Colombia’s Caribbean Insular Areas and
Human Health”. The project document refers only to adaptation benefits, not to global
environmental benefits (Government of Colombia and World Bank, 2005). The latter is
the case for the West African project “Adaptation to Climate Change: Responding to
Coastline Change and its Human Dimensions in West Africa through Integrated Coastal
Area Management”. The project document includes a baseline and an alternative GEF
scenario generating global environmental benefits. These benefits are generated by in-
creasing the capacity of participating countries to design and implement sustainable
strategies, and to contribute to the conservation and sustainable use of biological diver-
sity of coastal and marine resources (Government of Senegal et al., 2006). However, the
costs for generating global environmental benefits are not financed via the Biodiversity
focal area but by the SPA. In both the Colombian and the West African case, the respec-
tive IAs have not adhered to GEF guidance.
IAs have so far adhered to GEF guidance with respect to disbursement under the
LDCF. As of May 2007, 44 of the 49 eligible LDCs have received full-cost funding for
preparing their NAPAs13 (UNFCCC, 2006a); seventeen NAPAs have been completed.
Six NAPA projects (from Bangladesh, Bhutan, Malawi, Mauritania, Niger and Samoa)
have been approved for LDCF pipeline entry, meaning that they have been identified to

11
An overview of all GEF adaptation projects is provided in Annexes 1–3.
12
http://www.undp.org/gef/adaptation/funds/04c_i.htm. Website accessed on 9 June 2007.
13
All 44 LDCs opted for expedited access to funding under the LDCF and in line with the GEF pro-
gramming for NAPA preparation received the maximum amount of USD 200,000.
12 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

7.5 Regional Andes

Sri Lanka (with funding from
Land Degradation)
7.0

Global Health
6.5
Mozambique
6.0
(with funding
Share of GEF Funding (in USD million)

from Land Degradation)

5.5
Colombia
CBA
5.0 Mexico

4.5
West Africa India
4.0 Egypt
Guyana
3.5 Ecuador
Bhutan
Malawi
3.0
Bangladesh
2.5 Mauritania Caribbean

Samoa Niger
2.0 Sri Lanka
SE Africa
Mozambique
1.5 Chile, Fiji Kiribati
Maldives
1.0 Hungary
Mozambique
Ethiopia
0.5 Tanzania
ALM Zimbabwe
0.0
0

10

11

12

13

14

15

16

17

18

19

20

21

22

23

24

25

26

27

28

29

30
Size of Adaptation Project (in USD million)

Figure 3. Adaptation projects and their share of GEF funding. Projects funded under the SPA are de-
picted as circles, under the SCCF as squares and under the LDCF as triangles. The sliding scales of the
LDCF and SCCF are shown as a solid line and a dashed line, respectively (cf. Table 1). They feature
plateaus so as to avoid punitive conditions for projects near the lower boundary of each step on the two
sliding scales. Such projects may request the maximum total grant size available to projects in the step
below (GEF, 2006c). For reasons of clarity the project “Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid
Lands” (USD 51.63 million), the Chinese project “Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change into
Water Resources Management and Rural Development” (USD 55 million), the “Climate Change Adap-
tation Project” of the Philippines (USD 55 million) and the “Pacific Islands Adaptation to Climate
Change Project” (USD 82.4 million) are not shown.

be consistent with the LDCF eligibility criteria (GEF, 2007b). Of these projects, only the
one from Bhutan (“Reducing Climate Change Induced Risks and Vulnerabilities from
Glacial Lake Outbursts Floods (GLOFs) in Punakha-Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys”)
applies for a substantially higher proportion of GEF adaptation funding than envisaged
under the sliding scale. However, in line with GEF guidance the project document justi-
fies this higher GEF proportion by providing a baseline and an alternative adaptation
scenario for each of the three envisaged outcomes of the project (capacity-building for
disaster risk management, artificial lowering of lake levels and installation of an early-
warning system) (Government of Bhutan and UNDP, 2006).
As for the SCCF, four of the six projects approved by May 2007 either receive or are
expected to receive more GEF funding than envisaged under the sliding scale. These
four projects (proposed by Ethiopia, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zimbabwe) all have
provided information on the adaptation costs as stipulated by GEF guidance. For exam-
ple, Mozambique, which receives the highest share of GEF funding of the three “Coping
with Drought and Climate Change” projects, elaborates on the reasoning of the adapta-
tion costs as follows (Government of Mozambique and UNDP, 2006):
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 13

“The baseline scenario for this project represents a “business-as-usual” wherein Mozambique
undertakes only those activities in its baseline development planning. This envisages a situation
in which rural communities continue to use their current coping strategies, which will become
inadequate as drought increases in frequency and intensity. The project will improve the resil-
ience of the social systems to cope with drought. SCCF funding will cover the difference be-
tween relative costs associated with the baseline scenario and the alternative scenario.”
In its project document “Incorporating Climate Change in Integrated Water Re-
sources Management in Pangani River Basin” Tanzania also elaborates on costs associ-
ated with a baseline and an alternative adaptation scenario. However, it also includes in
an annex details of the incremental costs associated with global benefits in the area of
biodiversity (Government of Tanzania and UNDP, 2005). Specifics on the global envi-
ronmental benefits are required under the SPA but not under the SCCF. Such mistaken
adherence might suggest that the GEF guidance was not well understood by the IA pro-
posing the project.
As far as eligibility is concerned, the use of the LDCF shows adherence to GEF
guidance since only LDCs have received support. However, projects receiving funding
under the SPA or the SCCF show incomplete adherence to GEF guidance. For example,
Hungary, an EU member state with an economy in transition, has received support under
the SPA for its project “Lake Balaton Integrated Vulnerability Assessment, Early Warn-
ing and Adaptation Strategies.” To date the SCCF has funded projects from developing
countries only, but the UNDP website14 refers to a project in another EU member state
with an economy in transition: “Building National and Local Adaptation Capacity to
Extreme Water Events in Bulgaria.” Regardless of the definition of “developing coun-
tries” (i.e., whether or not they are synonymous with non-Annex I countries), support
for Hungary and Bulgaria diverges from COP or GEF guidance: both are Annex-I
countries and therefore not eligible for funding under the SPA or the SCCF.
As regards funding priorities, the use of the LDCF has adhered to GEF guidance as
funded projects encompass only the preparation and implementation of NAPAs. Adher-
ence under the SPA and the SCCF is less complete. The GEF programming paper on the
SPA (GEF, 2005) states that the SPA will support projects that address local adaptation
needs and generate global environmental benefits. However, a number of funded pro-
jects directly benefit development sectors. For example, the Colombian project supports
adaptation in the health sector (Government of Colombia and World Bank, 2005). GEF
guidance on the SCCF includes all priority activities included in the COP guidance, but
it prioritises development projects over projects that generate global environmental
benefits (GEF, 2004d, 2005):
“Projects that generate both local (development-focused) and global benefits will be eligible
under the SPA if their benefits are considered to be primarily global in nature. If the project’s
focus is primarily on benefits in development sectors—such as health, agriculture, water or in-
frastructure—the proposed projects will have to access GEF funding through the new funds15.”

14
http://www.undp.org/gef/adaptation/projects/06c.htm. Website accessed on 9 June 2007.
15
The LDCF and the SCCF.
14 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

On its website UNDP sharpens this distinction by stating that the SPA is an ecosys-
tem-focused fund whilst the SCCF focuses on development16. At the same time, how-
ever, IAs and developing countries recognise the impossibility of separating between
ecosystem benefits and development benefits. For example, the “Community Based Ad-
aptation” project document emphasises the need for integration as follows (Government
of Bangladesh et al., 2006):
“In general, community based adaptation projects will fall into two broad categories aimed pri-
marily at: increasing the adaptive capacity of a community or communities, often through eco-
system and natural resource management activities; and increasing the resilience of an ecosys-
tem or natural resource, often involving measures to engage surrounding communities, and of-
ten indirectly building the coping capacity of dependent communities.”
Many projects proposed or approved under the SCCF have a primary focus on eco-
systems, which does not correspond with GEF guidance or its interpretation by UNDP.
For example, the project in Guyana focuses on the management of coastal zones, whilst
Bolivia, Peru and Venezuela focus on piloting adaptation measures in the mountainous
ecosystems of the Andean Region.

6. Discussion

As argued in Section 2, developing countries can express their needs and concerns and
pursue their interest in adaptation funding at UNFCCC COPs and elaborate them to the
GEF, thus influencing the guidance provided by the COP and the GEF on the use of ex-
isting global funds for adaptation. The analysis in Sections 4 and 5 has shown that over-
all adherence to this guidance (i.e., GEF adherence to COP guidance and IAs’ adherence
to GEF guidance) is incomplete. This then raises the question as to whether or not the
observed lack of adherence has diminished the ability of developing countries to meet
their adaptation needs. The analysis presented in this paper assumes that COP decisions
do reflect developing countries’ adaptation needs.
The financial instruments established by the COP have specific priorities, eligibility
criteria and disbursement criteria, each of which should be subject to COP and GEF
guidance. Non-adherence concerning priorities constrains developing countries in un-
dertaking certain adaptation activities. For example, the GEF has yet to develop opera-
tional guidance (in the form of programming papers) to be able to make available further
financial and technical resources for the activities mentioned in paragraph 7 of
UNFCCC Decision 5/CP.7 as requested in Decision 8/CP.10). Without such guidance
developing countries cannot apply for funding for these activities. Non-adherence on
eligibility reduces the availability of funding to those countries that are eligible for ad-
aptation support. Non-adherence with respect to the disbursement of funds either in-
creases the cost of adaptation projects for recipient countries or reduces the availability
of funding to other eligible countries.

16
http://www.undp.org/gef/adaptation/funds/04_1.htm. Website accessed on 9 June 2007.
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 15

It is important to understand the nature and reasons for non-adherence to guidance if

the situation is to be improved. The analysis in Sections 4 and 5 suggests that non-adher-
ence relates to both the design and the implementation of guidance. The design of guid-
ance can lead to non-adherence if guidance is unspecific or ambiguous. For example, the
COP has not defined adaptation costs in a way that allows the GEF to make a clear dis-
tinction between adaptation and development. As a result, the GEF has developed and
applied the concepts of additional and incremental costs to determine its share of project
funding. Calculations using these concepts invariably raise the question as to which part
of a project concerns adaptation, to be funded by the GEF, and which part concerns de-
velopment, which is the recipient country’s responsibility. The introduction of the slid-
ing scales for the LDCF and the SCCF have simplified the process of determining the
GEF share of funding, but they have been designed in a way as to lead to different mar-
ginal values of GEF funding depending on the size of a project (see Figure 3). This
could lead to strategic behaviour by developing countries seeking to maximise GEF
funding for their projects.
Even if guidance is relatively unambiguous, implementation of the guidance can still
contradict the design intent. For example, COP guidance stipulates that funding under
the SPA and the SCCF be available only to developing countries, yet countries with
economies in transition have received or are about to receive funding as well. In other
cases non-adherence to guidance results from a mix of design and implementation is-
sues. For example, the COP requests complementarity between the different funds
(UNFCCC Decision 7/CP.7), yet the same adaptation activities are supported by more
than one fund. To avoid confusion and facilitate implementation, the GEF and its IAs
distinguish between the development-focused SCCF and the ecosystem-focused SPA.
However, the “Coping with Drought and Climate Change” projects received funding for
project preparation under the SPA (UNFCCC, 2006a), whilst project implementation is
now funded under the SCCF (GEF, 2007b). Such shifting of projects between funds
could lead to confusion amongst developing countries and create another incentive for
strategic behaviour: to apply to those funds that have the most resources available. In-
stead of being provided with straightforward opportunities for adaptation funding, de-
veloping countries need to adapt their projects so as to secure support for their proposed
adaptation activities.
As outlined in Section 3, the technical adequacy of financial instruments is deter-
mined by efficiency and fairness as well as adherence to guidance (i.e., responsiveness
to developing countries’ needs). As far as efficiency is concerned, GEF EO (2006) con-
cluded that the GEF activity cycle is not efficient, that the situation has grown worse
over time and that GEF modalities have not made full use of trends towards new forms
of collaboration that serve to promote efficiency. According to GEF EO (2006), the cy-
cle management of the GEF lags behind international good practice in terms of effi-
ciency. Mace (2005), Paavola and Adger (2006) and Müller (2007) conclude that there
is also room for improvement when it comes to the fairness of GEF decision-making.
In view of the fact that the current global funds for adaptation are not only techni-
cally but also financially inadequate (World Bank, 2006b; Bouwer and Aerts, 2006; Ox-
fam International, 2007), the question arises as to whether or not alternative arrange-
16 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

ments for adaptation funding, such as bilateral and multilateral official development as-
sistance (ODA), could address the concerns of developing countries and better meet
their needs. On the one hand the amount of money provided by ODA is much larger
than what is available under the global funds; on the other hand adaptation would have
to compete with other, more immediate development priorities. In addition, ODA has its
own set of eligibility and disbursement criteria, on which developing countries have
limited influence. Moreover, support for adaptation is a commitment under the
UNFCCC, whereas ODA is voluntary. Financially and technically adequate global funds
for adaptation are crucial if international climate policy after 2012 is to be a truly global
endeavour, whereby global funds serve as a catalyst for providing additional resources
from bilateral and multilateral sources.

7. Conclusions, Recommendations and Priorities for Future Research

This paper has assessed the technical adequacy of global adaptation funds from a gov-
ernance perspective. It has developed an analytical framework in which technical ade-
quacy is defined along three dimensions: efficiency, fairness and responsiveness to de-
veloping countries’ needs. The framework has been applied by taking adherence to guid-
ance as a measure for responsiveness, using priority activities, eligibility criteria and dis-
bursement criteria as indicators. Previous research has shown that the current global
funds are technically inadequate with respect to their efficiency and fairness. This paper
concludes that the funds are also technically inadequate when it comes to responding to
developing countries’ needs. Both the complex design of the funds and poor implemen-
tation of the guidance are to blame.
Improvements are necessary at all levels to enhance the funds’ responsiveness to de-
veloping countries’ needs. The COP could provide more explicit guidance in terms of
priority activities and eligibility. For example, the COP could clarify the relationship
between Stage III adaptation activities under the GEF Trust Fund and adaptation activi-
ties under the LDCF and SCCF. The GEF, which has been requested by COP to give
due priority to adaptation activities (UNFCCC Decision 2/CP.12), could make opera-
tional all COP guidance on adaptation as part of its revised strategy on climate change.
Future research could focus on the feasibility and desirability of a special adaptation
programme, possibly subsuming the LDCF and the SCCF under the GEF Trust Fund.
Similar to the current GEF Resource Allocation Framework for mitigation (GEF,
2006d), adaptation funding could be based on specific country allocations that reflect
countries’ respective vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Decisions on such allocations
would have to be informed by relevant research.

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper was presented at the Seventh European Conference on the Human Di-
mensions of Global Environmental Change: “Earth System Governance: Theories and Strategies for
 THE GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT FACILITY: FUNDING FOR ADAPTATION OR ADAPTING TO FUNDS? 17

Sustainability” (Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 24–26 May 2007). The authors would like to thank
Youssef Nassef, Benito Müller, Anthony Patt, Mikael Román, the participants in the 2007 Amsterdam
Conference and the participants in the ADAM PhD workshop on Livelihoods, Vulnerability and Policy
(Röstånga, Sweden, 11–13 December 2006) for their helpful comments. Richard Klein acknowledges
funding from the European Commission under project number FP6-018476-2 (Adaptation and Mitiga-
tion Strategies: Supporting European Climate Policy; ADAM) and from the Swedish Foundation for
Strategic Environmental Research (Mistra) under its Climate Policy Research programme (Clipore).

References

Bouwer, L.M. and J.C.J.H. Aerts, 2006: Financing climate change adaptation. Disasters, 30(1), 49–63,
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9523.2006.00306.x.
Dessai, S., 2003: The Special Climate Change Fund: origins and prioritisation assessment. Climate Pol-
icy, 3(3), 295–302, doi:10.1016/S1469-3062(03)00053-6.
GEF, 1994: Instrument for the Establishment of the Restructured Global Environment Facility. Report
of the GEF Participants Meeting, 14–16 March 1994, Geneva, Switzerland, 62 pp.
GEF, 2004a: GEF Assistance to Address Adaptation. GEF/C.23/Inf.8/Rev.1, Washington, DC, USA, 18
pp.
GEF, 2004b: Joint Summary of the Chairs. GEF Council Meeting, 19–21 May 2004, Washington, DC,
USA, 12 pp.
GEF, 2004c: Elements to be Taken into Account in Funding the Implementation of NAPAs under the
LDC Fund. GEF/C.24/Inf.7, Washington, DC, USA, i+13 pp.
GEF, 2004d: Programming to Implement the Guidance for the Special Climate Change Fund Adopted
by the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
at its Ninth Session. GEF/C.24/12. Washington, DC, USA, iii+19 pp.
GEF, 2005: Operational Guidelines for the Strategic Priority “Piloting An Operational Approach to
Adaptation” (SPA). GEF/C.27/Inf.10, Washington, DC, USA, ii+10 pp.
GEF, 2006a: Summary of Negotiations on the Fourth Replenishment of the GEF Trust Fund.
GEF/A.3/6, 29–30 August, Cape Town, South Africa, v+61 pp.
GEF, 2006b: Focal Area Strategies for GEF-4. Working Drafts and Proposed Process. GEF/C.30/5,
Washington, DC, USA, ii+59 pp.
GEF, 2006c: Programming Paper for Funding the Implementation of NAPAs under the LDC Trust
Fund. GEF/C.28/18, Washington, DC, USA, iv+20 pp.
GEF, 2006d: Resource Allocation Framework: Indicative Resource Allocations for GEF-4, for the Bio-
diversity and Climate Change Focal Areas. Washington, DC, USA, 12 pp.
GEF, 2007a: Status Report on the Climate Change Funds as of April 30, 2007. GEF/LDCF.SCCF.2/
Inf.2, Washington, DC, USA, 10 pp.
GEF, 2007b: LDCF and SCCF Programming Update. GEF/LDCF.SCCF.2/Inf.3, Washington, DC,
USA, ii+13 pp.
GEF Evaluation Office, 2005: OPS3: Progressing Toward Environmental Results. Third overall per-
formance study of the GEF, Office of Monitoring and Evaluation of the Global Environment Facil-
ity, Washington, DC, USA, xv+247 pp.
GEF Evaluation Office, 2006: Evaluation of the GEF Activity Cycle and Modalities. Joint Evaluation of
the GEF Evaluation Office and the Evaluation Offices of the Implementing and Executing Agencies
of the GEF. GEF/ME/C.30/6, Washington, DC, USA, iii+25 pp.
Government of Bhutan and UNDP, 2006: Reduce Climate Change-Induced Risks and Vulnerabilities
from Glacial Lake Outbursts in the Punakha-Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys. Project Development
Facility, request for PDF-B approval, 33 pp.
18 ANNETT MÖHNER AND RICHARD J.T. KLEIN

Government of Colombia and World Bank, 2005: Colombia: Integrated National Adaptation Program.
Project Brief on a proposed grant from the GEF Trust Fund to the Government of Colombia.
Washington, DC, USA, 79 pp.
Government of Mozambique and UNDP, 2006: Coping with Drought and Climate Change. Medium-
sized project proposal, request for GEF funding, 79 pp.
Government of Tanzania and UNDP, 2005: Incorporating Climate Change in Integrated Water Re-
sources Management in Pangani River Basin. Medium-sized project proposal, request for GEF
funding, 53 pp.
Governments of Bangladesh, Bolivia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Kazakhstan, Morocco, Namibia, Niger, Sa-
moa, Vietnam and UNDP, 2006: Community-Based Adaptation. GEF project document, 135 pp.
Governments of Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Cape Verde and UNDP, 2006: Ad-
aptation to Climate Change: Responding to Coastline Change and its Human Dimensions in West
Africa through Integrated Coastal Area Management (ACCC). GEF project document, 128 pp.
Mace, M.J., 2005: Funding for adaptation to climate change: UNFCCC and GEF developments since
COP-7. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 14(3), 225–246,
doi:10.1111/j.1467-9388.2005.00445.x.
Müller, B., 2007: Nairobi 2006: Trust and the Future of Adaptation Funding. Oxford Institute for En-
ergy Studies, Oxford, UK, 26 pp.
Oxfam International, 2007: Adapting to Climate Change: What’s Needed in Poor Countries, and Who
Should Pay. Oxfam Briefing Paper 104, Oxfam International Secretariat, Oxford, UK, 47 pp.
Paavola, J. and W.N. Adger, 2006: Fair adaptation to climate change. Ecological Economics, 56(4),
594–609, doi:10.1016/j.ecolecon.2005.03.015.
Sagasti, F.R., K. Bezanson and F. Prada, 2005: The Future of Development Financing: Challenges and
Strategic Choices. Palgrave Macmillan, Basingstoke, UK, xvi+238 pp.
Schipper, E.L.F., 2006: Conceptual history of adaptation in the UNFCCC Process. Review of European
Community and International Environmental Law, 15(1), 82–92, doi:10.1111/j.1467-9388.2006.
00501.x.
Stern, N., 2007: The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review. Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, UK, xix+692 pp.
UNFCCC, 2006a: Report of the Global Environment Facility to the Conference of the Parties. FCCC/
CP/2006/3, UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland, iv+71 pp.
UNFCCC, 2006b: Report on the Latin American Regional Workshop on Adaptation. FCCC/SBI/2006/
19, UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland, 10 pp.
UNFCCC, 2007a: Report on the African Regional Workshop on Adaptation. FCCC/SBI/2007/2, UN Of-
fice at Geneva, Switzerland, 15 pp.
UNFCCC, 2007b: Report on the Expert Meeting on Adaptation for Small Island Developing States.
FCCC/SBI/2007/11, UN Office at Geneva, Switzerland, 17 pp.
Verheyen, R., 2002: Adaptation to the impacts of anthropogenic climate change – the international legal
framework. Review of European Community and International Environmental Law, 11(2), 129–143,
doi:10.1111/1467-9388.00312.
World Bank, 2006a: Clean Energy and Development: Towards an Investment Framework. DC2006-
0002, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, x+146 pp.
World Bank, 2006b: An Investment Framework for Clean Energy and Development: A Progress Report.
DC2006-0012, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA, xiv+92 pp.
Annex 1. Overview of GEF adaptation projects under the SPA of the GEF Trust Fund as of October 2006 (UNFCCC, 2006a).

Country or Region Project Primary Area or Sector Size GEF Funding Implementing
(M USD) (M USD) (%) / Executing
Agency
Under implementation
Colombia Integrated National Adaptation Plan: High Mountain Coastal zones, health, 17.47 5.57 32 World Bank
Ecosystems, Colombia's Caribbean Insular Areas and mountainous ecosystems
Human Health
Global Adaptation Learning Mechanism Knowledge management 1.37 0.72 53 UNDP
Hungary Lake Balaton Integrated Vulnerability Assessment, Disaster risk management, 4.08 0.99 24 UNDP
Early Warning and Adaptation Strategies water resources
Kiribatia,b Kiribati Adaptation Program Phase II – Pilot Coastal zones, water 6.70 1.90 28 World Bank
Implementation resources
Regional (Dominicab, St. Luciab, St. Implementation of Pilot Adaptation Measures in Coastal zones 6.40 2.40 38 World Bank
Vincent & the Grenadinesb) Caribbean Coastal Areas
Regional (Kenya, Madagascara, Integrating Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Land management, water 2.27 1.00 44 UNEP
Mozambiquea, Rwandaa, Tanzaniaa) Change into Sustainable Development Policy Planning resources
and Implementation in Southern and Eastern Africa
Approved
Global (Bangladesha, Bolivia, Nigera, Community Based Adaptation Coastal zones, 9.54 5.01 53 UNDP
Samoaa,b, Guatemala, Jamaicab, mountainous ecosystems,
Kazakhstan, Morocco, Namibia, land management, water
Vietnam) resources
Mozambiquea Zambezi Valley Market Led Smallholder Development Land management 27.55 1.50 5 Word Bank
(5.05 LD)c ( total 24)c
Regional (Senegala, Gambiaa, Guinea Adaptation to Climate Change: Responding to Coastal zones 8.00 4.00 50 UNDP
Bissaua,b, Mauritaniaa, Cape Verdea,b) Shoreline Change and its Human Dimensions in West
Africa through Integrated Coastal Area Management
Sri Lanka Participatory Coastal Zone Restoration and Sustainable Coastal zones, land 14.84 1.90 13 IFAD
Management in the Eastern Province of Post-Tsunami management (5.37 LD)c (total 49)c
Sri Lanka

a
Least Developed Country (LDC)
b
Small Island Developing State (SIDS)
c
Receives additional GEF funding under the focal area Land Degradation
Annex 2. Overview of GEF adaptation projects under the SCCF as of May 2007 (GEF, 2007b).

Country or Region Project Primary Area or Sector Size GEF Funding Implementing
(M USD) (M USD) (%) / Executing
Agency
Approved
Ethiopiaa Coping with Drought and Climate Change Disaster risk management, 2.86 1.00 35 UNDP
land management
Guyanab Guyana Conservancy Adaptation Project Coastal zones, water 20.00 3.80 19 World Bank
resources
Kenya Kenya Adaptation to Climate Change in Arid Lands Land management 51.63 6.78 13 World Bank/
UNDP
Mozambiquea Coping with Drought and Climate Change Disaster risk management, 1.89 0.96 51 UNDP
land management
Tanzaniaa Mainstreaming Climate Change in Integrated Water Water resources 2.57 1.00 39 UNDP
Resources Management in the Pangani River Basin
Zimbabwe Coping with Drought and Climate Change Disaster risk management 2.14 0.98 46 UNDP
Land management
In the pipeline
Global (Barbadosb, Bhutana, China, Piloting Climate Change Adaptation to Protect Human Health 24.47 6.47 26 UNDP
Fijib, Jordan, Kenya, Uzbekistan) Health
Regional (Bolivia, Peru, Venezuela) Design and Implementation of Pilot Climate Change Mountainous ecosystems, 27.39 7.29 27 World Bank
Adaptation Measures in the Andean Region water resources
Regional (Cook Islandsb, FSMb, Fijib, Pacific Islands Adaptation to Climate Change Coastal zones, food 82.40 11.60 14 UNDP
Naurub, Nuieb, Papua New Guineab, security, water resources
Samoaa,b, Solomon Islandsa,b, Tongab,
Tuvalua,b, Vanuatua,b)
China Mainstreaming Adaptation to Climate Change into Water resources 55.00 5.00 9 World Bank
Water Resources Management and Rural Development
Chile Targeted Research on Climate Change Impacts on Water resources 2.00 1.00 50 UNEP
Southern Mid-Latitude Ice Masses
Ecuador Adaptation to Climate Change through effective Water Water resources 9.35 3.35 36 UNDP
Governance
Egypt Adaptation to Climate Change in the Nile Delta Coastal zones, water 9.20 4.00 43 UNDP
resources
Fiji Adaptation to Climate Change in the Tourism Sector in Tourism 2.00 1.00 50 UNEP
Fiji Islands
India Climate-Resilient Development and Adaptation Coastal zones, food 20.25 4.25 21 UNDP
security, water resources
Maldives Implementing Tourism Adaptation to Climate Change Tourism 2.00 1.00 50 UNDP
Mexico Protection of Environmental Services of Coastal Coastal zones, water 13.80 4.80 35 World Bank
Wetlands in the Gulf of Mexico to the Impacts of resources
Climate Change through Improved Water Resource
Management
Philippines Climate Change Adaptation Project Disaster risk management 55.00 5.00 9 World Bank

a
Least Developed Country (LDC)
b
Small Island Developing State (SIDS)
Annex 3. Overview of GEF adaptation projects under the LDCF as of May 2007 (GEF, 2007b).

Country or Region Project Primary Area or Sector Size GEF Funding Implementing
(M USD) (M USD) (%) / Executing
Agency
In the pipeline
Bangladesha Strengthening Adaptive Capacities to Address Climate Coastal zones, disaster 9.25 3.1 34 UNDP
Change Threats on Sustainable Development Strategies risk management
for Coastal Communities in Bangladesh
Bhutana Reduce Climate Change Induced Risks and Disaster risk management 7.38 3.63 49 UNDP
Vulnerabilities from Glacial Lake Outbursts Floods
(GLOFs) in Punakha-Wangdi and Chamkhar Valleys
Malawia Climate Adaptation for Rural Livelihoods and Disaster risk management, 27.65 3.26 12 AfDB
Agriculture food security, land
management
Mauritaniaa Reducing Vulnerability of Arid Oasian Zones to Water resources 3.08 1.66 54 UNEP
Climate Change and Variability through Improved
Watershed Management
Nigera Implementing NAPA Priority Interventions to Build Food security, water 6.25 2.1 34 UNDP
Resilience and Adaptive Capacity of the Agriculture resources
Sector to Climate Change in Niger
Samoaa,b Integrated Climate Change Adaptation in Samoa disaster risk management, 4.1 2.09 51 UNDP
food security, health,
ecosystems

a
Least Developed Country (LDC)
b
Small Island Developing State (SIDS)
Asia Centre
231 Park Place Building
9th Floor, Sarasin Road
Lumpini, Pathumwan
Bangkok 10330
Thailand
Tel+66 2 254 2260

Oxford Centre
Suite 193
266 Banbury Road,
Oxford, OX2 7DL
UK
Tel+44 1865 426316

Stockholm Centre
Kräftriket 2B
SE -106 91 Stockholm
Sweden
Tel+46 8 674 7070

Tallinn Centre
Lai 34, Box 160
EE-10502, Tallinn
Estonia
Tel+372 6 276 100

U.S. Centre
Tufts University
11 Curtis Avenue
Somerville, MA 02144
USA
Tel+1 617 627-3786

York Centre
University of York
Heslington
York YO10 5DD
UK
Tel+44 1904 43 2897

The Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)

SEI is an independent, international research institute specializing in sustainable development
and environment issues. It works at local, national, regional and global policy levels. The SEI
research programmes aim to clarify the requirements, strategies and policies for a transition to
sustainability. These goals are linked to the principles advocated in Agenda 21 and the
Conventions such as Climate Change, Ozone Layer Protection and Biological Diversity. SEI along
with its predecessor, the Beijer Institute, has been engaged in major environment and
development issues for a quarter of a century.

www.sei.se