The “how-to” of accessing climate finance: developing a climate finance handbook for the MENA region

By Climatekos

On Tuesday 15th November 2016, the EC-funded ClimaSouth Initiative released a handbook on Accessing Climate Finance: A step by step approach for practitioners, prepared by Climatekos, at CoP22 in Marrakech. The handbook provides a systematic methodology to secure the finances for climate action. Although designed originally as a practical toolkit for public and private stakeholders in the South Mediterranean to access climate finance, this handbook is widely applicable for stakeholders on a global scale.

In recent years, many developing countries in the Middle-East and North African (MENA) region have suffered the rising temperatures, increasing drought and desertification associated with a changing climate. Nevertheless, it is not easy to access the necessary funds to protect against such impacts. At the 22nd annual Conference of Parties (CoP22), ClimaSouth released the handbook: Accessing Climate Finance: A step by step approach for practitioners, which has been prepared by Climatekos. As the 8th handbook in a series to promote adaptation and mitigation of climate change, this document gives step-by-step guidance to:

• Prepare and assess project applications for climate finance

• Support climate finance capacity building/training for key actors

• Guide and facilitate applications for climate finance

The work builds on previous climate finance handbooks and manuals, with a few key improvements. Firstly, it incorporates cutting-edge guidance on preparing and assessing project applications, particularly direct-access schemes provided by the Adaptation Fund and the Green Climate Fund. Secondly, it provides more intimate particulars on leveraging climate finance sources and instruments. It also includes specialist advice on blending funding sources by combining conventional public investments with private financing. Such techniques enable actors from the private, public, non-governmental or civil-society sectors to penetrate various funding sources and mechanisms, including private finance.

The tool focuses on key governmental stakeholders and project promoters for countries in the MENA region. This includes, more specifically, the 9 partner countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Palestine and Tunisia) of the European Neighbourhood Partnership Instrument (ENPI). In reality, it is valuable for stakeholders in all countries around the world, particularly developing nations.

The toolkit gives systematic guidance on the application processes of different funding programmes. It also provides much-needed supporting materials, reusable templates, and checklists to train and be used by stakeholders to access funding. What has transpired from this handbook is a living, adaptable document that can facilitate funding pipelines for both present and future projects. We hope that document will empower vulnerable nations to secure the financial resources for climate protection and for low emission development paths.