Independent evaluation of the GCF's Environmental and Social Safeguards and the Environmental and Social Management System (ESS2020)

  • Evaluation type Programmatic
  • Status Completed in
    February 2020

An assessment of the GCF’s environmental and social safeguards (ESS) including the Environmental and Social management system (ESMS): The IEU assesses the extent to which past and current social and environmental safeguards, the ESMS and the policy have been useful and have helped mitigate key risks for the Fund with a special focus on LDCs, African countries and SIDS.

The review determines which current safeguards can be strengthened and examines their implementation in implemented projects. It constructively assesses how environmental and social considerations may be used and mainstreamed in the best possible manner to help inform the Secretariat’s work in this space.

Evaluation Documents

  • The evaluation was commissioned by the Board in IEU Work Plan and Budget for 2019 at B.21.
  • The inception report prepared by the evaluation team during the inception stage describes the approach, methods, and work plan for the evaluation.
  • The evaluation team further developed an approach brief to provide a pre-implementation summary of the Independent Assessment of the GCF’s ESS. It describes the evaluation’s context, purpose, scope, output, timing, country missions and methods.

*Translated from the original English version of the document.

  • The GCF Secretariat Management response presents the Secretariat management response to the Independent Evaluation of the Green Climate Fund’s Environmental and Social Safeguards (ESS) and the Environmental and Social Management System (ESMS) undertaken by the Independent Evaluation Unit (IEU).
  • In Decision B.30/11, the GCF Board invited its members and alternate members to consider and provide comments on the findings and recommendations of five IEU evaluations and their corresponding Secretariat management responses. The list of evaluations included the Independent Evaluation of the GCF’s ESS and ESMS. The Board also requested the IEU to prepare a summary of these views. The IEU included this summary in its 2021 Annual Report.
  • Following the GCF Evaluation Policy, Management Action Reports are submitted by the IEU to the GCF Board. They track the progress made in the adoption of recommendations made by IEU evaluations. The Management Action Report on the Independent evaluation of the GCF's Environmental and Social Safeguards and the Environmental and Social Management System was submitted to the Board as an annex to the report on the IEU's activities at B.34 (GCF/B.34/Inf.10).