The Adaptation Fund — which has financed $358 million of mostly small-scale projects to help developing countries adapt to climate change — faces an uncertain future.
Attached to an international treaty that has been replaced, and underwritten by a carbon credit exchange that saw its floor drop out, the fund is waiting on negotiators during the final hours at the 22nd Conference of Parties in Morocco to agree what its role will be in the post-Paris agreement era.
Developing countries laud the Adaptation Fund’s direct access structure, which eliminates some of the red tape required to access funding and allows accredited countries to manage their projects instead of relying on multilateral organizations. Developing countries also enjoy a majority share of the fund’s governing board seats — and even though the board has never voted on anything, there is a sense of developing country ownership unique among climate finance mechanisms.
About the author
Michael Igoe@AlterIgoe
Michael Igoe is a Senior Reporter with Devex, based in Washington, D.C. He covers U.S. foreign aid, global health, climate change, and development finance. Prior to joining Devex, Michael researched water management and climate change adaptation in post-Soviet Central Asia, where he also wrote for EurasiaNet. Michael earned his bachelor's degree from Bowdoin College, where he majored in Russian, and his master’s degree from the University of Montana, where he studied international conservation and development.
