IEU Convenes Climate Finance Workshop

  • Article type News
  • Publication date 16 Nov 2023

On  9 and 10 November, the IEU convened a two-day workshop featuring seven climate finance experts from around the world to promote an exchange between science and policy, with a focus on climate finance and the GCF.

Members of the IEU and GCF Secretariat were invited to attend a series of thematic sessions and discussions with experts on a range of issues centred around three overarching thematic pillars: challenges and opportunities for the GCF, emerging research and the IEU evaluations, and bridging between the IEU and the research community. The workshop aimed to facilitate a dialogue between researchers and the IEU, along with its colleagues in the GCF Secretariat, on multilateral climate finance.

On Day 1 of the workshop, invited experts reviewed key takeaways from the Second Performance Review of the GCF and Updated Strategic Plan for GCF-2. They also spoke at a special lunch talk for the GCF personnel on their research. Then they participated in two thematic sessions, which were attended by representatives from both the IEU and the GCF Secretariat, on adaptation impact of GCF investments and access to GCF resources and climate finance in general.

On Day 2, the group discussed the GCF’s position at national and global levels, private sector engagement, and how the GCF can engage with a broader community of practice, through two additional thematic sessions and a concluding session. Points of keen discussion covered what happens after GCF project approval, the role and potential of ministries of finance, and the right way to solve climate change problems.

The workshop was an opportunity to reflect, challenge each other, and engage in lively debate. Several participants, including those from the GCF Secretariat, relayed their appreciation to the IEU for hosting this workshop featuring academics, saying that the workshop offered insights useful to them and their work.

The IEU thanks Natalia Alayza (World Resources Institute), Laura Kuhl (Northeastern University), Melanie Pill (Lowy Institute), Ben Cashore (National University of Singapore), Pia Treichel (Monash University), Thomas Kalinowski (Ewha Womans University), and Bertha Iris Argueta Tejeda (Germanwatch) for joining the team in this discussion.

The IEU also thanks members of the GCF Secretariat for joining the sessions, who were represented by Henry Gonzalez, Lee Kyung Chul, Carolina Fuentes, Marie-Hélène Joseph-Vanderpool, Devindranauth Bissoon and Hansol Park.

The IEU was represented by Andreas Reumann, Archi Rastogi, Susumu Yoshida, Yeonji Kim, Prashanth Kotturi, Anastasia Aladysheva, Martin Prowse, Peter Mwandri, Genta Konci, Daisuke Horikoshi, and Jennifer Pampolina.

You can learn more about the workshop here.