New Executive Director Yannick Glemarec has committed the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to reinforcing its support for adaptation in developing countries at the opening of a major conference in Songdo, home of GCF.

"Our shared experience with countries and partners has taught us that adaptation projects need to be underpinned by substantive climate science, notably to identify anticipated changes in climate, their impact and the vulnerabilities of affected populations," said Yannick Glemarec to over 300 event participants. 

"We are not there yet in terms of dollar value, but almost two thirds of all our projects are focused entirely or partially on adaptation," said Glemarec. "Private sector engagement in adaptation is critical. Going forward, GCF will support the emergence of viable business models that generate reflows to private investors through greater use of non-grant instruments."

The Korea Global Adaptation Week kicks off today with climate experts and world leaders gathering in Songdo to discuss ways to mainstream climate adaptation in country development plans. Hosted by the Ministry of Environment of the Republic of Korea, the week-long event (8-12 April 2019) is organised by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Korea Environment Institute (KEI), the Korea Adaptation Centre for Climate Change (KACCC), and Incheon Metropolitan City.

Adaptation is a critical objective of GCF's mandate in advancing countries' transformational efforts on climate change. GCF has been channeling finance and providing technical assistance in supporting all aspects of adaptation, including the process to formulate and implement National Adaptation Plans and other adaptation planning processes.

GCF aims to deliver a 50:50 balance between adaptation and mitigation allocations in its portfolio; and ensures that at least 50 percent of adaptation funding goes to particularly vulnerable countries, including Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Small-Island Developing States (SIDS), and African States. 

Representatives from governments, civil society, private sector, academia, and international organisations will gather in four key events throughout the week: the 6th NAP Expo with the theme "Raising Adaptation Ambition by Advancing National Adaptation Plans"; Resilience Frontiers which will deal with how to maximise long-term resilience to climate change through emerging technologies and new sustainability trends; Adaptation Forum which will discuss ways to increase private sector engagement in adaptation planning; and the GCF-organised Technical Examination Process on Adaptation (TEM-A) which will focus on how to enhance the participation of the private sector in financing adaptation to climate change.

For the week’s full programme, visit http://napexpo.org/2019/programme/.