With a population of about 5 million people, CAR experiences extreme climate hazards resulting in deadly floods and prolonged droughts. Climate change predictions for the country show the likelihood that these hazards may worsen; posing a major risk to CAR and threatening the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals. Acccessing adequate climate finance will help the country face these challenges and increase its adaptability to climate change which will in turn promote sustainable development.
The Readiness Programme provides grants and technical assistance to the country's National Designated Authorities (NDAs) and/or focal points (FPs). The objective is to enhance the capacity of national institutions to engage with the GCF. Dedicated readiness funding may also assist countries in undertaking adaptation planning and developing strategic frameworks to build their programming with GCF.
The first two readiness projects implemented in CAR (2016 & 2017), focused on the development of a climate fund mobilization strategy and a project to be submitted to the Green Climate Fund. With this in mind, GWP and the National Designated Authority (NDA) carried out consultations that helped to identify a number of gaps and underlying barriers preventing CAR from effectively accessing climate finance.
These include the limited capacity to track climate finance flows, lack of awareness of the GCF among partners, project ideas are not transformed into concept notes and full project proposals, and CAR's project portfolio is not gender and social-inclusion-sensitive. The 2021 GCF readiness Proposal for the Central African Republic will address these pre-identified gaps. The proposal was approved by the Adaptation Fund in December 2021 with a funding of 443 130 USD and will run from June 2022 to December 2023.
Program objectives and expected results
The main objective of the Readiness program in CAR
is to strengthen the capacity of NDA and other key
stakeholders in CAR on climate finance programming
to improve direct access to GCF funding.
Expected results
Result 1.1 For the AND or national focal points and the network, the systems that enable them to fulfill their roles,
responsibilities and policy requirements are
operational and effective;
Result 1.3 Relevant national stakeholders (which may include implementing civil society organizations and the private civil society organizations and the private sector) have established systems and networks to support the planning, programming, and implementation of activities financed by the Green Climate Fund;
Result 4.3 An increase in the number of quality project concept notes developed and submitted to the GCF.
GWP's role in the GCF Readiness process (Global and regional level)
As a GCF Readiness Delivery Partner, GWPO is in charge of receiving funds from GCF for this readiness project and will be accountable to the GCF for the overall implementation of the project providing technical and financial support for the implementation of the program. GWP-Central Africa is responsible for the implementation of the on-ground project activities through the GWP Central African Republic Country Office and its host institution WWF CCPO.